The True Meaning of being a Shinobi
by substitutingrealitywithmyown
Summary: My time-travel Naruto story. The Fourth Great Ninja War has gone terribly wrong, and two men attempt to rewrite history. However, time is a fickle thing will they succeed or will they make things worse? Naruto and Shikamaru are the two main characters, not the pairing. Nar/?, Shika/Tem
1. Return to where it all began

**Disclaimer: The _Naruto_ universe isn't mine, it belongs to Kishimoto. I'm just having some fun with it, as well as trying to fix some plot holes that have come up. Though with my level of writing, I might make some more holes. But please enjoy**

'**Summon, demonfied jinchuriki or** **Biju**' speaking

_**Jutsu**_** name**

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Two figures stood atop the Hokage monument, looking out over the village of Konohagakure no Sato. One of the figures was roughly a half a head taller than the other.

"Hard to imagine that today is the day it all begins," the taller figure said.

"Hai."

"Do they know?"

"Hai, I told the old man and Ero-Sennin the first day," the shorter man said. "They'll be prepared and ready for the snake. You should have seen their faces when they finally believed me."

"Tch…we better get down to the stadium," the taller man said.

"Never thought I'd hear you want to go somewhere early." The taller man grunted as he turned back toward the path leading down the mountain. "Or is it because you want to see a certain someone?"

"Mendokusē," the taller man grumbled before vanishing in a swirl of leaves. The shorter man laughed brightly before following suit and vanished in a streak of yellow.

Konohagakure no Sato was abuzz with excitement, as the day of the Finals of the Chunin Selection Exams had finally arrived. Most villagers and visitors were talking the match between Sabaku no Gaara, the youngest child of the Kazekage, and Uchiha Sasuke, the last Uchiha member of the Leaf.

"Where is Sasuke-kun?" Yamanaka Ino cried together as they and the other Rookies who didn't make the finals found seats in the stadium.

"I don't know," Sakura said. "No one has seen him since the end of the Second Exam. He vanished from his hospital and no one has seen him since. Though no one has seen Kakashi-sensei in a month either, so I think they are together."

"What about Naruto? I don't see him or Shikamaru down there," Choji asked through a mouthful of chips.

"It's not like Naruto to be late," Sakura said. "I would have thought he would have been here before anyone else. I thought it would be Shikamaru who would be late."

"Who are those two guys at the end?" Kiba asked, as he and Hinata appeared at the end of the row.

"Hinata, how are you feeling?" Ino asked as the Hyuga heiress sat down.

"Better Ino-san," Hinata whispered. "Thank you. Where is Naruto-kun, or Shikamaru-kun or Sasuke-kun? I don't see them down there."

"We're not sure," Ino said. "But if Naruto doesn't show up soon, he's going to forfeit."

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"The first round match between Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Neji will now begin!" Genma shouted, as he leapt backward. Naruto chuckled as he heard his fellow genin cry out 'NANI' when they realized it was him. Naruto lowered his hood reveling his sun-yellow hair that he had grown out slightly. It now reached the base of his neck, and his bangs framed his face making Naruto look like a near-carbon copy of his father except for the whisker marks. Naruto had ditched his orange jumpsuit and was wearing a dark green hooded vest over a black ninja bodysuit and sandals. Twin kunai pouches were strapped to his legs along with an equipment pouch attached to his belt.

"You were foolish to face me," Neji sneered. "You are fated to lose to me."

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Naruto asked, cleaning out his ear with his pinky.

Neji snarled but then he calmed himself. Showing anger was for a weaker person. "It is Fate that has brought you here," the Hyuga boy said. "And it is Fate that you will lose to me. You can't fight Fate. All you will ever be is a weak dead last…"

"Are you finished?" Naruto interrupted. "I believe we are here for a fight not a conversation. And you say you can't fight Fate, well then let's see how you fight me."

Neji growled and launched himself toward Naruto, who easily slid out of the way before planting his fist into the small of Neji's back. The Hyuga boy cried out in pain as he was knocked head over feet and sent summersaulting nearly into the wall. Naruto slowly turned to face the downed boy.

"Is that it Neji?" Naruto mocked. "The so-called prodigy of the Hyuga clan can't even touch the dead-last. You know you were a lot taller back in the Academy, guess I'm finally growing some…oh sorry, Neji, this fight is so boring that I've began to ramble. Would you like to continue?"

Neji snarled as he sped toward Naruto once more. The blonde haired boy grinned as he fell back before the Hyuga's onslaught, deflecting or blocking each of Neji's strikes.

"How are you doing this?" Neji shouted as he ducked under a spinning kick that would have knocked him clear across the arena. "You are the dobe, the dead last, the weakling!"

"News flash Neji," Naruto grinned. "You shouldn't believe what other people tell you. Do you really want to know what the so-called dead last can do?"

"It doesn't matter," Neji growled. "I underestimated you but no more. I am still Fated to win this match."

"Oh yes, your oh-so precious Fate," Naruto chuckled. "Well let me tell you something Neji, Fate isn't here to help you fight me. You're on your own, no one is here to help you, so show me what you can do Neji. Will you continue to use Fate as a crutch or will you stand on your own two feet?"

"What do you know!" Neji shouted. "You know nothing of what Fate has decreed for my life. Do you know what it is like to be branded as something less than human, given a mark that can never be wiped away?"

Naruto chuckled darkly, sending shivers up several of the spectators' spines. "Oh I know," he said. "I know exactly what that's like. I know what it is like to be treated like less than human; I got that from pretty much the entirety of this village. Singled out for something that happened when I was less than an hour old, all because people are too stupid to get over themselves."

Neji roared as he rushed toward Naruto, a Juken strike aimed at Naruto's heart. Just before the strike touched Naruto's chest, the blonde boy vanished in a streak of yellow.

"Sorry Neji, but you're going to have to be better than that," Naruto laughed. Neji whirled around to see Naruto waving at him. Neji saw red as he chased after Naruto once more. Naruto's smile fell as he reached into his kunai pouch and withdrew five kunai from each one. Several spectators' eyes widened as they recognized the kunai.

Neji's eyes narrowed as he skidded to a stop just as Naruto threw the kunai. A spilt second later, Neji realized that none of the kunai were even close to him.

"Is that it?" Neji sneered. "How did you manage to graduate if you can't even throw kunai correctly?"

"For having those all-seeing Byakugan, you sure are blind Neji-teme," Naruto said. Suddenly Neji noticed that he wasn't alone, surrounding him were ten Narutos. Cries of shock and in some cases anger filtered down from the stands.

"What was that?" Sakura cried. "Naruto just made those clones without using hand signs!"

"The _**Hiraishin**_!" Asuma gasped. "How did Naruto learn that?"

"The what?" Ino, Kiba and Sakura asked.

"That's the Yondaime's jutsu, the jutsu that gave him the moniker of the 'Yellow Flash', the jutsu that won Konoha the last war against Iwa," Asuma said.

"How does Naruto know that technique?" Kiba shouted.

Orochimaru was salivating at the sight of Naruto using what was considered the most powerful technique ever created. "Hokage-dono, it seems that you were hiding a diamond in the rough," he said softly. "A genin replicating the legendary _**Hiraishin no jutsu**_, wasn't this boy the dobe of his class, failing Konoha's graduation exam twice?"

Hiruzen chuckled. "Naruto-kun is quite the prankster," he said. "Take a closer look Kazekage-dono. That isn't Minato-kun's jutsu, just a quite ingenious prank."

"What do you mean Hokage-dono?" Orochimaru asked. "That certainly looks like he…_**Kage Bunshin**_! He used those kunai as cover to create _**Kage Bunshin**_, ingenious!"

"Naruto-kun isn't known as Konoha's most unpredictable ninja for nothing," Hiruzen said. '_So Naruto-kun, you managed to complete that _jutsu_ after all,'_ he thought to himself.

"Hey there sensei," a deep voice called out.

"Ah Jiraiya-kun, you made it," Hiruzen said as a white-haired man appeared beside the Hokage. "Naruto-kun has been showing us how much he has grown."

"So he managed to complete it," Jiraiya said with a grin down at his apprentice. "Must have been a shock for everyone."

Down in the arena, Neji was sweating slightly as he heard murmurs of what technique Naruto had used. Everyone knew what this was, the Yondaime's legendary jutsu. '_How could this dobe recreate the most powerful jutsu in Konoha's history?_' Neji thought as he settled into his Juken stance.

Naruto laughed at the look on Neji's terrified face. '_That worked better than I had hoped,_' he thought. '_Time to end this._'

"Sorry Neji but I believe it's time to finish this fight," Naruto said. "_**Futon: Atsugai!**_" several voices cried out around Neji.

"_**Hakkesho Kaiten!**_" Neji cried. A spinning dome of chakra surrounded Neji just as the several windblasts reached him. A massive explosion masked the spectators' view of the fight.

"Not bad Neji but not good enough," Naruto said.

The dust cleared to revel a sight that most people never have thought to see. Naruto was standing behind Neji with a kunai to the Hyuga's throat.

"Surrender Neji," Naruto said. "You can't beat me."

"How? How can you defy Fate like this?" Neji asked.

"This has nothing to do with Fate," Naruto said. "I don't believe in Fate deciding everything. A person makes his or her own Fate. Those who believe that their lives are controlled by Fate are just cowards, not having the strength to do something about their lives to make it better. I know all about your father and what happened during the Kumo incident. While you might think that your father was sacrificed to protect the Main Branch of the Hyuga clan, I believe he choose to protect his brother and the village. Your father was a true hero; don't dishonor his sacrifice by preaching about how he was thrown aside like a bent kunai. If you want to honor your father, then lose this Fate crap and protect the village and the _family_ that he gave his life for."

"Winner Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma announced as he saw Neji's eyes deactivate and his shoulders slump. Naruto holstered his kunai and the _**Kage Bunshin**_dispelled themselves after returning the three-pronged kunai to the original. There was silence as Naruto made his way from the arena floor.

"What just happened?" Kiba exclaimed. "I mean Naruto, the dobe, the guy who failed the graduation exam three times, just beat NEJI!"

"What was that jutsu that Naruto used?" Ino asked. "Asuma-sensei, you said that it was the Yondaime's jutsu, then how did Naruto learn it? I mean he can't even make a simple clone!"

"I was mistaken," Asuma said. "That wasn't the _**Hiraishin**_. He used those kunai to cover up for creating those _**Kage Bunshin**_. I knew that Naruto used _**Kage Bunshin**_ almost exclusively but I didn't think he, hell, anyone could summon them so perfectly and without any hand signs."

"You had to go and show off didn't you?" Shikamaru said. "What was that about a low profile?"

"Whatever," Naruto chuckled. "I want that promotion. Last time the Council of temes wouldn't promote me even though I beat Neji and Gaara, while you were promoted because you forfeited. Looks like the teme is late again, I wish jiji would just disqualify his arrogant ass. Letting him fight after showing up the crowd is just adding to his massive ego."

"It's troublesome but he'll face even more opposition from the Council if he were too disqualify Sasuke," Shikamaru said.

"The match between Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara has been postponed due to one of the participants not being here," Genma grumbled. "So will Aburame Shino and Sabaku no Temari please…"

"I forfeit," Kankuro shouted.

"Fine then," Genma said. "Winner Aburame Shino. Moving on, will Nara Shikamaru and Sabaku no Temari please come down here?"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said as he made his way down to the arena. Temari appeared in a swirl of dust. Shikamaru felt his heart clench at the sight of his former, and hopefully future, wife. Temari and Shikamaru had been married for two years before she had been killed in an ambush near the end of the war. Shikamaru had nearly cracked because of the grief and had thrown himself into coming up a way to defeat Madara and Obito. It was twice as bad as when Asuma had been killed by the Akatsuki.

"Begin!" Genma's voice brought Shikamaru out of his trance just in time to see Temari ripped her fan from her back and swing it around. He leapt backward to avoid the sharp gusts of wind that Temari had shot from her fan. Tossing several kunai and shuriken at Temari, Shikamaru watched with a hidden grin as Temari slashed her fan through the air, sending a large gust of wind to deflect the projectiles.

"_**Kage Mane no Jutsu **_success!"

"What! How? I never even saw your shadow," Temari exclaimed.

"If one is skilled enough, they can shrink their shadow to any size," Shikamaru said. "_**Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu!**_ Now will you forfeit?" he asked as several tendrils of the shadows began creeping up her body.

Temari tried to struggle against Shikamaru's jutsu but couldn't.

"I give up," Temari growled. Shikamaru nodded and released his jutsu once Genma had announced his victory.

"You actually tried to win?" Naruto asked with a grin as Shikamaru returned to the viewing box.

"Of course," Shikamaru answered. "So Sasuke still hasn't shown up?"

"No but I can sense his and Kakashi-sensei's chakra signature approaching the stadium," Naruto said. "If I didn't know better, I think that Kakashi just wanted to make an entrance."

"Speak of the teme," Shikamaru said as in a swirl of leaves two figures appeared in the middle of the stadium floor. When the leaves cleared and the stadium got a good look at the pair, the crowd erupted into cheers, Sakura and Ino's voices easily heard over everything else. "SASUKE-KUN!"

"Are we late?" Kakashi asked, scratching the back of his head in an embarrassed fashion.

"Yes," Genma said shortly. "However, Hokage-sama allowed the match to be postponed until the end of the first round. Though Uchiha Sasuke will not be eligible for promotion…"

"WHAT!" Sasuke roared. "How dare…" Sasuke fell silent as Genma pinned him with a KI enhanced glare. The senbon wielding jonin looked up at Kakashi.

"Perhaps you should teach your student some respect," Genma growled. "Hokage-sama gave you this opportunity _genin_, he should have just disqualified you to begin with. You might think you are something special because of your last name but without actions, words and names are nothing! Now I expect you to shut up and listen. Sabaku no Gaara, would you…" Gaara appeared in a swirl of sand. "Right then, Kakashi, why are you still here?"

Kakashi nodded curtly to the other jonin, gave Sasuke's shoulder a squeeze before vanishing from the stadium floor in a swirl of leaves.

"The final match of the first round between Sabaku no Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke will now begin!" Genma announced, chopping his hand down and leaping backward to wild cheers.

"Uchiha Sasuke, make me feel alive," Gaara said as sand from his gourd swirled around him.

"You know my name and who I am," Sasuke sneered. "And yet you still wish to fight me, you're braver than most others."

Gaara just leered at Sasuke. The Uchiha heir flashed his Sharingan, to wild applause from the civilians and several growls from his fellow ninja. He tossed several shuriken at Gaara, but they were stopped dead by a wall of sand that sprung up around the Suna ninja. Leaping backward, Sasuke's hands blurred through some hand signs before he called out his jutsu.

"_**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**_"

A large fireball spewed from Sasuke's mouth. Another wall of sand sprung to life in front of Gaara protecting him from the fireball. A large explosion blocked Gaara from view, however when the smoke cleared, the crowd was stunned to see that Gaara was perfectly unharmed, not even a singe mark on his clothing.

"Come Uchiha Sasuke," Gaara cackled. "Show me your strength!" An arm made of sand shot toward Sasuke, who quickly dodged and leapt backward sending another _**Katon**_ jutsu as the sand user. Gaara barely twitched as another wave of sand intercepted the _**Katon**_ jutsu. Sasuke frowned as he realized that his _**Katon**_ jutsus would do absolutely nothing to Gaara. Suddenly Gaara's sand was pulled back to him before it swelled up and encased the redheaded ninja in a sphere of sand.

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke leapt backward onto the stadium wall where he hand several handseals. A chirping sound filled the air as Sasuke's hand was encased in lightning.

"Wish that Kakashi hadn't taught Sasuke that jutsu," Naruto said, rubbing his shoulder in the exact spot where Sasuke had slammed his Curse Seal-enhanced _**Chidori**_ back at the Valley of the End. "Did he really think that Sasuke was mature enough to handle an A-rank assassination jutsu?"

"Who knows," Shikamaru muttered. "But looks like its time." Naruto nodded curtly as Sasuke slammed his _**Chidori**_ into Gaara's sphere of sand. A blood-curdling scream filled the air as the sand surrounding Gaara fell apart reveling blood spilling from Gaara's shoulder and soaking his clothing.

"MY BLOOD!" Gaara screamed as his sand swirled around him in a twister. "YOU'VE SPILT MY BLOOD!"

An explosion rocked the stadium as feathers descended from the heavens.

"It's time," Naruto said. Shikamaru nodded. "Release the others from the genjutsu and get them to Kakashi, Asuma and Gai. Jiraiya and Jiji should be able to handle Orochimaru. We need to stop Sasuke from chasing after Gaara as well as make sure that Gaara is stopped before he goes on a rampage."

"You'll need to handle Gaara," Shikamaru said. "No one aside from the Hokage or Jiraiya-sama is strong enough to stop a rampaging jinchuriki, except for you."

Naruto nodded curtly. "Sasuke's gone after Gaara, let's move."

"_**Shadow Shuriken no Jutsu!**_" Naruto shouted out as he tossed three tri-pronged kunai into the crowd of Oto and Suna ninja. The three kunai multiplied into two dozen, each one finding a home in an Oto or Suna ninjas' head. The fifteen enemy ninja dropped to the floor, dead.

"Kakashi, Sasuke has gone after Gaara and his team," Naruto said sharply. "We need a team to go after him."

"Hai," Kakashi said. "Naruto, go with Shikamaru and Sakura. Pakkun will track Sasuke and lead you to him. Get him back to the village and to one of the shelters at all costs. Tenten, take Kiba, Ino and Choji and help get the civilians and Hinata to safety."

"Hai!" Tenten said after a glance at her sensei Gai, who nodded. She rounded up the other Rookies and they sped off.

"_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**_" Kakashi barked before slicing his hand with a kunai and then slamming to the ground. In a puff of smoke, a small pug appeared wearing a blue Konoha hitai-ate.

"Yo," the dog said.

"Pakkun, you need to follow Sasuke's scent," Kakashi ordered. "He took after a very powerful enemy and can't hope to defeat him. Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru will be following you."

"Roger Kakashi," Pakkun said with a salute.

"That dog just talked," Sakura said dumbly.

"It's a summoning," Naruto said. "Now come on. _**Rasengan!**_" Naruto shouted, slamming a swirling ball of blue chakra into the wall behind them. A large explosion echoed through the stadium as a large hole appeared in the wall.

"Naruto! Where did you learn that…"

"Later Kakashi," Naruto interrupted. "Let's go Shikamaru, Sakura-chan!"

"Hai Hokage-sama," Shikamaru answered causing everyone to freeze and look at the lazy Nara. Naruto grabbed Sakura around the waist and leapt through the hole that he had made with his _**Rasengan**_. Shikamaru scooped up Pakkun before following.

"Kakashi, what was that?" Gai asked. "How could Naruto-kun know _that_ jutsu?"

"I have no idea," Kakashi answered. "But when they get back, I'm going to have to sit my student down and have quite a talk with him."

"Naruto-baka! Put me down!" Sakura shouted as Naruto carried her through the village after Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said as he ducked a blow from Sakura. "You need to calm down, I'm sorry about what I did but we needed to get out of there as soon as possible." Naruto stopped on a tree branch just outside the village and set Sakura down. "Now come on, we've got to save Sasuke before he gets himself killed."

Sakura's eyes widened. "But Sasuke-kun was beating Gaara before, why shouldn't he be able to keep doing that?"

"Gaara isn't like a normal ninja," Naruto said. "He has a hidden reserve of chakra that he can't control very well. If Gaara loses control, Sasuke won't stand a chance."

"Naruto!" Shikamaru cried. "Pakkun says that Sasuke is about a mile ahead but there are nine ninja following us!"

"Kuso!" Naruto cursed. He looked at Shikamaru who nodded.

"I'll handle it," the Nara said. "You two just catch up with Sasuke."

"Hai," Naruto said. "Just come back alive." Shikamaru nodded before disappearing into the trees. "Come on Sakura-chan." Sakura nodded numbly as she followed Naruto deeper into the forest.

The pair of genin burst through the woods into a clearing to a sight that would haunt most of them for the rest of their lives. A half-transformed Gaara was standing over a panting Sasuke, whose faces was covered in blood and black flame like patterns that indicated his use of the Curse Seal that Orochimaru had placed on him.

"**Give me your blood Uchiha Sasuke!**" the enraged Gaara cackled as he launched himself at the tired Uchiha.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried.

"Kuso!" Naruto growled. "_Kai!_" he whispered before. Naruto appeared next to Sasuke in an instant, grabbing him by the collar and then vanished a spilt second later, appearing next to Sakura.

"Get him out of here!" Naruto ordered turning back to the stunned Sand ninja.

"Dobe, what in Kami's name do you think you are doing?" Sasuke groaned, clutching his shoulder as the Curse Seal throbbed painfully.

"Saving your ass teme," Naruto shot back, not taking his eyes off of the enraged Gaara. "Kakashi sent us after you because you decided to go off trying to get yourself killed."

"Dobe, this is my fight! I'm an Uchiha, no one is stronger that an Uchiha," Sasuke growled as he struggled to get to his feet.

"**Uzumaki Naruto!**" Gaara roared. "**You dare to take away my prey! I will kill you and give your blood to mother!**"

"_**Taju Kage Bunshin!**_" Naruto cried out. In a massive explosion of smoke, the forest was filled with hundreds of Naruto clones.

"How is this possible?" Temari cried as she fell back onto her butt at the sheer amount of clones. "How can he summon so many clones?"

"Naruto," Sakura whispered.

"What are you waiting for?" Naruto shouted. "Get out of here, you're no match for him! Get him!" he ordered his clones. A wave of green and blue leapt into the air, blocking out the sun and sky.

"_**Kage Shuriken Bunshin!**_" roughly half the clones called out throwing several shuriken at the transforming Gaara.

"**You think that puny attack will do anything!**" Gaara sneered.

"_**Futon: Daitoppa!**_" the other clones shouted. The _**Futon**_ jutsu propelled the shuriken to near invisible speed levels.

"_**Futon: Suna Senpuu!**_" Gaara cried, whirling around, kicking up a massive amount of dust and wind. Naruto's eyes narrowed as the majority of his clone's projectiles were deflected by the _**Futon**_ jutsu, though a good third did cut through the defensive jutsu. Gaara snarled in pain as the wind-enhanced shuriken buried deeply into his 'skin'.

"_**Suiton: Teppoudama!**_" A massive ball of water spat from Naruto's mouth, and half his clones.

"**Argh!**" Gaara cried as he was pushed backward to the force of the multitude _**Suiton**_ jutsus crashed into him.

"_**Raiton: Rakurai!**_" Dozens streams of lightning spat from the remaining Naruto clones, streaking across the clearing and striking deeply into Gaara's transformed body, causing the enraged jinchuriki to scream in agony.

"How does Naruto know all these jutsus?" Sakura gaped. "All I've ever seen him use before today are _**Kage Bunshin**_ and the Academy three."

"Stand down Gaara," Naruto ordered. "I don't want to have to hurt you anymore than I already have."

"**Uzumaki Naruto**," Gaara cackled. "**You amuse me, I shall have your blood for mother. You shall validate my existence!** _**Futon: Suna Shuriken!**_" Gaara waved his arm in front of him and a wave of sand blobs shot from his arm and sped toward the clones. The forest was covered in a massive cloud of smoke as the majority of Naruto's clones were destroyed. With a roar, Gaara launched himself off the branch toward Naruto. Just before the transformed Gaara's claws raked through the blonde boy's body, Naruto vanished in a blur of yellow.

"_**Rasengan!**_" Naruto cried, slamming a swirling ball of chakra into Gaara's back. The jutsu dug deeply into the sand, carving out a large hole in the sand surrounding Gaara. The other genin gaped in amazement as Gaara was sent flying into the ground with an earsplitting crash.

Naruto landed on a branch above Sasuke and Sakura. "What are you all still doing here? I told you to get back to the village," he roared. "That's an order!"

"I'm an Uchiha, an elite," Sasuke shouted. "You can't order me dobe!"

"Kakashi put me in charge of this mission," Naruto growled. "I don't care what you last name is teme, this isn't time for a fucking pissing contest. Gaara is too strong for any of you, now get…"

A massive howl shook the forest. Whirling around, Naruto saw a massive shadow towering above them. '_Kuso! He's fully transformed,_' Naruto thought. '_I'm going to need some help with this one._' Hands blurring through several hand signs, Naruto flexed his chakra sending Sasuke and Sakura flying backward, and slapped his hand to the branch. "_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**_" Naruto roared.

The forest around Naruto exploded as a massive red skinned toad appeared; the toad was wearing a blue jacket with a sword tucked into a bandage belt and smoking from a long thin pipe.

"**Gaki, why have you summoned me?**" the massive toad roared, spewing smoke all over the forest.

"Sorry Boss Toad," Naruto shouted. "But I need some help with my opponent, it's Shukaku."

"**Are you kidding me? Why should I go out of my way to fight a guy like him?**" Gamabunta asked.

"Look Boss, I can't beat him by myself," Naruto said. "If I don't stop him soon, he'll go on a rampage in the village."

"**Fine gaki but you own me a drink after this**," Gamabunta grunted, stowing his pipe and drawing his sword.

"You would bankrupt the entire village before you even got buzzed Boss," Naruto grumbled. "Give me some oil Bunta," he said after creating a clone.

"_**Futon: Gamayu Endan!**_"

A stream of white flames shot toward the massive tanuki made of sand. The creature roared as the flames licked up and down its body causing the sand skin to slowly crystalize into glass. The flames died down a moment later, leaving Naruto panting heavily, his clone dispelling into smoke next to him.

"Did that do it?" he asked.

"**I don't think so, this is a Biju we are talking about,**" Gamabunta grunted. "**By the way kid, how in Kami's name did you know how to pull off a collaboration technique? You've only had the summoning contract for what, a month?**"

"I'll tell you later Boss Toad," Naruto said. "Right now, we've got a larger problem in front of us."

"**Uzumaki Naruto hahahaha! You have proven to be a worthy test for my existence**," the crazed jinchuriki shouted. "_**Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu!**_" Gaara slumped forward and a blast of chakra erupted from the massive sand creature.

"**I'm free, I'm finally free!**"

"**So this Gaara has used that jutsu to release Shukaku, the Biju is now in control of the medium**," Gamabunta said.

"All right Bunta, looks like I'm going to have to wake our friend up," Naruto said. "I'll need your help getting in close."

"**Right and how do you expect to do that?**" Gamabunta grunted.

"Give me a minute," Naruto said. "Hey Boss, do you think that you can get me close enough to jump onto that thing, and I'll do the rest."

"**All right kid**," Gama said. "**Hold on tight, cause here we go!**" The massive toad launched himself toward the Sand spirit. Naruto crouched as he readied himself.

"**Argh!**" Gamabunta roared as he slammed himself into the rampaging Biju. "**Now gaki!**"

Naruto released the chakra that was holding him to Gamabunta's back, and the collision propelled him toward Shukaku's forehead.

"Wake up Gaara!" Naruto roared as he slammed his fist into the Suna jinchuriki's cheek. Naruto grinned as he heard a groan coming from the Sand ninja.

"**Oh come on, I just got here!**" Shukaku cried as his consciousness was dragged back within the seal on Gaara. The massive construct that made up Shukaku began falling apart.

"**Nice job gaki**," Gamabunta said. "**Looks like my time is up, remember you still owe me that drink.**" The toad dispelled in a massive plume of smoke, sending the two ninja flying into the canopy of the forest.

Groaning, Naruto rose to his feet staring over at the Suna ninja. Gaara was looking at Naruto in stunned shock, and a little bit of fear.

"How? How are you so strong?" Gaara whispered.

"Because I fight to protect those precious to myself," Naruto said. "I won't let you hurt anymore people Gaara, I know that you have gone through much pain in your life. Pain that you didn't deserve but making others fear you isn't going to make you feel better."

"How do you know? How many assassination attempts have you survived?"

"Not many," Naruto said. "I'm sure not as many as you have, but I don't want to become that which the villagers fear that I am. I want to prove to them that I am Uzumaki Naruto, genin and future Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, not some monster that will come and kill them in the night. My friends saved me from the hell that is loneliness, they saved me from turning into what most of the villagers feared that I was."

"I don't have anyone like that," Gaara cried. "You were lucky, I am feared by all!"

"You do have people who care for you, your siblings," Naruto said. "It might be difficult Gaara, but they do truly care for you. If you would give them a chance, they'll show you."

Gaara dropped his head, his body shutting down as he began fading in unconsciousness. "Gaara!" a female voice cried out. Temari and Kankuro leapt down from treetops. "Get away from my brother," she screamed.

"Don't worry Temari," Naruto said. "I'm not going to hurt Gaara. Actually, I have a way to help Gaara, I'm going to fix his seal."

"You can do that?" Temari gasped. Naruto nodded.

"I'm quite experienced with seals," he said. "Now it won't be perfect since Gaara's seal has been in place for so long. It would be best if I could remove the seal entirely and then redo it, but that would kill Gaara and release Shukaku. So I'm going to place a seal that's from my clan on top of Gaara's seal. It should separate Shukaku's consciousness from his chakra and allow Gaara to sleep at night without the crazy raccoon from causing Gaara to lose his mind."

"How do we know that you'll do what you're saying?" Kankurō asked.

"True but I guess you'll both just have to trust me," Naruto said as he slowly approached Gaara. "I give you my word that I won't harm Gaara and I never go back on my word."

"Let him try," Gaara said.

"Thank you Gaara," Naruto said. "Now lie down and let me see the seal."

Gaara did as asked and pulled up his shirt reveling the glowing seal on his stomach.

"All right, here we go," Naruto said slowly making hand signs. "_**Uzumaki Fuinjutsu: Kitsunetsuki Rikaku!**_" (Uzumaki Sealing: Spirit Possession Separation). Several lines of kanji appeared on Gaara's stomach and surrounded the older seal. Gaara growled out in pain as the kanji turned bright red before turning black.

"That should do it," Naruto said getting back to his feet. "Now you'll still be able to use Shukaku's abilities but he won't have control over your mind anymore."

"I can't hear mother screaming," Gaara said, his eyes widening before they rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the ground.

"Don't worry, he's just exhausted and passed out," Naruto told Temari and Kankurō as they approached him. "Take him home and he'll be right as rain in the morning."

"Thank you," Temari said as Kankurō picked up Gaara. "Thank you for giving us our brother back."

"No problem," Naruto chuckled. "This will just be something that the future Kazekage will owe the future Hokage."

"Naruto!" Sakura's voice called out. She and Sasuke leapt down from the treetops. "What happened?"

"Don't worry Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "Everything's fine."

"You beat Gaara by yourself?" she asked in disbelief.

"Have you so little faith in me Sakura-chan?" Naruto whined.

"What are you doing dobe? Letting them go!" Sasuke shouted as he shoved Sakura away. "They're enemies of the village!"

"No, they along with the rest of Suna were tricked into attacking by Orochimaru," Naruto said. "He's been pretending to be the Kazekage for some time and gave orders to attack the village."

"How do you know that?" Sasuke demanded. Naruto paused, and inwardly cursed himself.

"Well think about it," Naruto said trying to convince Sakura and Sasuke. "Orochimaru attacks us during the Forest of Death, gives Sasuke some sort of seal and then Suna attacks along with Suna."

"That sort of makes sense," Sakura said, though Sasuke didn't look convinced. "But still, we should bring those three back to the village at least."

Naruto looked over at the trio of Suna ninja. "She's right," he said. "But don't worry, the old man won't let anything happen to you guys. He knows that you were following orders and the fact that you didn't kill anyone or actually attack the village will help. _**Kage Bunshin!**_" Several clones popped into existence surrounding Temari, Kankurō and the unconscious Gaara. "This is just a precaution, if you guys just walk into the village you'll likely be attacked. If it seems like we've captured you, then no Konoha ninja will hassle us. Let's get going the invasion should be over."

"How do you know that?" Sasuke asked sharply.

"Yes Naruto-kun, how do you know that?" a sickeningly sweet voice hissed from behind the group. Naruto froze as he recognized that voice.

"_Orochimaru!_" he snarled, whirling around. Just in time to feel a sword slip underneath his ribcage.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried in shock as the blonde boy in front of her slumped to his knees at the feet of Orochimaru.

"You gave us quite a surprise during your match against Neji-kun, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru said. "To nearly recreate your father's famous jutsu is quite a feat. However, I won't kill you, at least just yet. My former associates wouldn't like it if I were to steal their prey from them. Now then, Sasuke-kun, have you given thought to my offer? The power to take your revenge and destroy your brother, I can give you that."

"Don't listen to him Sasuke," Naruto rasped as blood dripped from his mouth. He could feel the little amount of Kurama's chakra that had replenished over the past month slowly neutralizing the poison on Orochimaru's blade. "You can't believe a word that this…" Naruto cried out in pain as Orochimaru twisted his sword in Naruto's wound.

"Please be quiet Naruto-kun," Orochimaru said. "It is rude to talk to your betters."

Naruto laughed though it was watery due to the blood filling his mouth. "You think you're my better," he laughed.

"We don't have time for this," Orochimaru snapped. "Sasuke-kun, I can give you the power you seek in order to avenge your clan and kill your brother. Will you accept my offer?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto before a gleam came to eyes. He shoved Sakura aside and knelt down in front of Orochimaru. "Teach me, I pledge myself to your teachings my Master," Sasuke said.

"Good, good Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru cackled. "I will make sure that you will become the strongest ninja ever, and you will be easily able to kill your brother and take your revenge. Let us be off before we are interrupted."

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura whimpered from the base of the tree that she had fallen against. "What are you doing?"

"This pathetic excuse for a village has been holding me back, keeping me from my ambition. I'm done with Konoha."

"Come along Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru laughed. "Once we return to Oto and I recover from my miscalculations regarding sensei and Jiraiya-kun we will begin your training."

Naruto gasped as he felt Orochimaru yank his sword free of his body before the Oto ninja and Sasuke leapt off into the trees.

**CLIFFHANGER NO JUTSU!**

**A/N: Well here's my newest _Naruto_ story. It is a time-travel story as you can all figure out. Some might have noticed that Naruto's use of _Kage Bunshin_ in conjunction with kunai is much like Lach Feragh's character Haruno Maki in '_Naruto: The Replicator_'. I have spoken with Lach Feragh and received permission to use this brilliant idea, so don't jump down my throat about 'stealing' another's idea. Also, I have no idea what the pairings will be, aside from Shika/Tem. So any suggestions will be welcome, I'll set up a poll on my profile for Naruto's partner, so please vote. In the next chapter of '_True meaning of being a Shinobi_', there will be some background information about what happened to cause Naruto and Shikamaru to return as well as their stats. Oh and bonus points to those who can point out the movie reference used in this chapter. Please read and review, let me know any ideas that you have for this story. I'm working on the second chapter and have a rough outline of the chapter in the works, so hopefully the chapter will be posted within a week.**

**S.R.W.M.O**


	2. Aftermath and Opening several eyes

**Disclaimer: The world of _Naruto_ isn't mine, I'm just borrowing it and having some fun trying to fill the plot holes or at least hoping not to widen them any further than they are.**

It had been three days since the invasion and Naruto had been confined to the hospital ever since he had been admitted. Orochimaru's sword had pierced Naruto's right lung and he had only survived due to his mother's clan's extreme vitality and the small amount of Kurama's chakra that was circulating through his body. It didn't help that the hospital staff initially denied him treatment, it was only when Jiraiya appeared that the staff reluctantly admitted Naruto and even then he was only given the barest of treatment. On the third day, Naruto had regained enough strength to leave his hospital room and made his way to the Hokage's room along with Shikamaru where the duo was to meet with Hiruzen and Jiraiya.

"Naruto-kun, Shikamaru-kun, come in," the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, said as the two travelers appeared in the doorway.

"How you doing Jiji?" Naruto asked.

"I've been better," Hiruzen said. Naruto noted that the Hokage was missing his left arm from below the elbow and his chest was covered in bandages. Jiraiya was standing next to the Hokage, his right arm was bandaged and he was leaning heavily on a crutch. "How are you faring Naruto-kun?"

"All of Kurama's chakra is being utilized to neutralize the poison from Oro-teme's sword," Naruto said. "So my other injuries I have to let them heal at a normal pace."

"So Orochimaru slinked away once again," Jiraiya said. "And he managed to take the Uchiha as well."

"Yes," Naruto said, a frown marring his normally cheerful face. "While Sasuke did defect to Oto in the previous timeline but it wasn't this early. It was nearly six months after the invasion."

"Well, we've already changed the timeline," Shikamaru said. "In the other timeline, Sandaime-sama sacrificed his life when he sealed Orochimaru's arms using the _**Shiki Fūjin**_. Now with Sandaime-sama surviving, pretty much all of our future knowledge is now useless."

_**Furasshubakku no Jutsu **_**(Flashback Jutsu)**

_"Hokage-sama, did the jutsu work?" Shikamaru groaned as opened his eyes._

_ "It seems to have," Naruto grunted. "We're shorter than we were and I can't feel Kurama through our mind link, though I know he's still there. There are only four faces on the Monument, so we've gone back at least as far as before Tsunade-baa-chan became Hokage. I think that it's the morning after the Second Exam of the Chunin Exams, right when we planned to return."_

_ "You know I can't believe it actually worked," Shikamaru said. "No one would ever think that you, the dead last, would come up with a time traveling jutsu let alone becoming an even greater Fuinjutsu master than Jiraiya-sama or your own father."_

_ Naruto rolled his eyes but his lips twitched. _

_ "Naruto, are you sure this was the right idea?" Shikamaru asked. "I mean, yes we were about to lose but I don't know if I can go through all of that again, especially knowing what's going to happen."_

_ "I know Shikamaru but we can stop all of that," Naruto argued. "We can save everyone, Jiji, Ero-Sennin, Tsunade-baa-chan, Shizune-nee-chan, your tou-san and kaa-san, Temari, Gaara, everyone."_

_ Shikamaru lowered his head as his eyes welled with tears at the mention of his wife, who had perished in an ambush two months ago. "I know but…"_

_ "Enough Shikamaru," Naruto snapped. The Nara Jonin commander straightened up instantly at the tone of his Hokage's voice. Shikamaru knew that Naruto had felt each and every death of the Shinobi Alliance personally, especially those of Gaara, Tsunade, Neji, Lee, Sakura and Hinata. Each death was like a physical blow to the blonde shinobi, a taunt from Madara and Sasuke telling him that he failed to protect his precious people. "Come on, we need to find Jiji," Naruto said. "If we're going to save everyone, we need to get jiji and Ero-Sennin to believe us. I'll go speak with jiji and meet with you tonight."_

_ The two travelers vanished in a swirl of leaves each heading off on their own. Naruto reappeared on top of the Hokage tower. Naruto looked out over the village that he had defended with close to his final breath. In the back of his mind, Naruto felt that he had shamed himself by not giving his life to defend his village like his father, mother and jiji had. Why couldn't he commit the ultimate sacrifice, to give one's life in defense of one's village was the greatest sacrifice one could give. The truth was, Naruto feared death. The Shinobi Nashi Osore (Shinobi without Fear) was truly afraid of many things, the most crippling of Naruto's fears were death and failure. He felt that every time one of his precious people had perished, it struck Naruto hard as a failure to ensure that he would protect them. _

_ "Hey you can't go in there!" the secretary shouted as Naruto stormed past her into the Hokage's office._

_ "Naruto-kun!" Hiruzen exclaimed. "What's the meaning of this?"_

_ Naruto's lower lip was trembling as his eyes filled with tears at the sight of his surrogate grandfather._

_ "Jiji!" Naruto cried as he threw himself at the old man. _

_ "Naruto-kun!" Hiruzen laughed as he caught the flying blonde boy. "What's wrong Naruto-kun? I don't think I've seen you cry in years, what ever happened to the boy who promised that he would never cry again, because 'crying never solved anything'?"_

_ "Gomenasai jiji," Naruto whispered. "It's just I haven't seen you in years."_

_ "What are you talking about Naruto-kun? I just saw you yesterday," Hiruzen said furrowing his brow._

_ "That's what we need to discuss Hokage-sama," Naruto said. Hiruzen blinked at Naruto's formal use of his title. "Could you please bring Jiraiya-sensei here too?"_

_ "How do you know Jiraiya?" Hiruzen asked sharply._

_ "Please jiji, everything will be explained but it will be easier if we can do it only once," Naruto said. Hiruzen noticed that Naruto's eyes were no longer the bright, cheerful blue eyes that he so identified Naruto with, no, there was a new depth to those eyes. Much like his father's, Minato, eyes when the older blonde had come back from the battlefield during the __**Daisanji Ninkai Taisen**__. "All right Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said softly as he raised a hand. In the corner of the office, the air shimmered for a moment then a tall, white-haired man appeared out of thin air._

_ "Ero-Sennin!" Naruto shouted. Jiraiya sweat-dropped at the over active blonde boy in front of him. _

_ "How do you know that name?" Jiraiya asked._

_ "Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama, neither Shikamaru nor myself are from this time. What I mean is, that we are from eight years into the future."_

_ "Come now Naruto-kun," Hiruzen frowned. "This isn't the time for one of your pranks."_

_ "This isn't a prank Hokage-sama," Naruto said sounding uncharacteristically serious. "I can prove that I'm telling you the truth."_

_ "Oh really," Jiraiya asked sounding very skeptical. _

_ "__**Rasengan!**__" Naruto said as a swirling ball of blue chakra appeared in his hand. He had to put their hands in their mouths, Naruto's left hand, to keep from laughing at the faces of Jiraiya and Hiruzen._

_ "How do you know that jutsu?" Jiraiya asked._

_ "You taught it to me," Naruto responded. "Though, I wouldn't call it teaching as you just told me the three steps and then ran off to go peeping."_

_ "What are the three steps?"_

_ "Rotation, power and containment," Naruto said simply. "I was able to complete it five years ago, it became the __**Futon: Rasenshuriken**__. I also learned tou-san and kaa-san's jutsus."_

_ "You know who your parents were?" Hiruzen gasped, as Jiraiya did his gaping fish impression. Naruto nodded._

_ "I know that I am the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina," Naruto said. "Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, the Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato and Nara Shikamaru was…is my Jonin Hanchō."_

_ "So you achieved your dream then Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen asked with a huge smile. However, that smile fell away at Naruto's withdrawn and solemn look._

_ "For a time," Naruto said. "I nearly supplanted my tou-san as the Hokage with the shortest reign. I was Hokage for less than two years before _he_ returned and proceeded to attack the village. _They _was too strong for anyone, I did all I could but…but I failed."_

_ "Who were too strong?" Hiruzen asked._

_ "Orochimaru and Madara."_

_ "Orochimaru and Madara?" Jiraiya asked sharply._

_ "Yes," Naruto said. "In the previous timeline, Sasuke defected to Orochimaru but it was around six months after the invasion. And while Sasuke became strong, Orochimaru was able to take over his body and gain the __**Sharingan**__ just before the breakout of the __**Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen**__. When Orochimaru joined forces with Madara, the Akatsuki became too strong for even the Shinobi Alliance could hope to defeat. In the end, it was only a matter of time before Orochimaru and Madara would finish off the Alliance and destroy our world. I threw myself into studying my tou-san's notes, as well as the Uzumaki clan's fuinjutsu scrolls hoping to find something that would turn the tide of the war. And what I found terrified me."_

_ Hiruzen and Jiraiya's eyes widened. This wasn't the Naruto that they knew, the boy who was afraid of nothing. _

_ "The seal that I found gave me the opportunity to turn back time with enough chakra," Naruto said. "However, the amount of chakra needed to turn back time even one day is staggering, let alone to send two people back nearly a decade. It was only Kurama's offer to use his own chakra to fuel the jutsu that we had just enough."_

_ "So that's what you did?" Jiraiya asked. "You and Shikamaru traveled back in time?"_

_ "Hai," Naruto said. "It was the only way to save the future."_

_ "Who is this Madara that you said teamed up with my wayward student?" Hiruzen asked._

_ "The man who released Kurama from my kaa-san's seal, as well as the progenitor of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Madara," Naruto said._

_ "Impossible!" Jiraiya shouted. "He's dead. The Shodaime killed him back at the Valley of the End."_

_ "No he didn't," Naruto said. "The Shodaime thought he killed Madara but like Orochimaru, he slinked away and survived and licked his wounds for decades before becoming the Mizukage of Kirigakure by controlling Yagura. He was the one who created the Bloodline Wars, as well as was the true leader of Akatsuki, and was the person who attacked Konoha by using Kurama the day of my birth."_

_ "So Minato fought Uchiha Madara?" Jiraiya asked softly. "Sensei said that Minato told him to watch out for the 'masked man', that was Madara?"_

_ "Hai Jiraiya-sama," Naruto said. "So do you believe me?"_

_ "Yes Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said. "We believe you. Not from what you have said, which is troubling to say the least but I can see your eyes. Those eyes are not the eyes of fresh genin who are less than a year graduated from the Academy; they are the eyes of someone who have seen too much death and destruction in their lifetime. Most times I see those eyes in the faces of shinobi veterans like Kakashi, Jiraiya or myself. To see them looking out at me in the faces of children is a sobering thought."_

_ "Hai Sandaime-sama," Naruto said. "Perhaps we can now get around to changing everything, and create a plan that will save everyone."_

_ "Hai," Naruto said. "The first thing you need to know jiji is that Orochimaru will be masquerading as the Kazekage during the finals of Chunin Exams in a month. He will have the Sound Four as his bodyguards, disguised as two Suna ANBU."_

_ "So Suna aims to betray us," Jiraiya said. _

_ "Not really," Naruto said. "The majority of their forces don't wish to go through with the invasion attempt but since they think that it's the orders of their Kazekage, they'll go along with it. Sabaku no Gaara is Orochimaru's trump card, he has ordered Gaara to transform during his fight with the Uchiha and then attack the village."_

_ "Why did you call Sasuke-kun 'the Uchiha' Naruto-kun? He is your teammate," Hiruzen said._

_ "No he isn't," Naruto said flatly. "Uchiha Sasuke is just a weak minded, arrogant teme who thinks that the world owes him anything and everything. All he cares about is revenge and power, and he will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals even if it means giving his body over to Orochimaru. There isn't much we can do to prevent the actual invasion since if we moved too truly, it would tip Orochimaru off and we'd lose this chance to kill him. Sandaime-sama, you can't hold back against Orochimaru or he will kill you. The last time, Orochimaru used the __**Edo Tensei**__ to summon the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages, forcing you to use the __**Shiki Fūjin**__ to seal them and Orochimaru's arms away. That set the Hebi-teme back several years but you can't let he escape or it will all be for naught," _

_ "I see," Hiruzen said. "Perhaps another one of my students will consent to joining Orochimaru and myself in the Kage box when the time comes?"_

_ "No Jiraiya-sama can't help," Naruto said. "Orochimaru had teams of Oto ninja stationed around the village with summoning circles enabling them to summon massive snakes that wrecked much of the village. Jiraiya-sama will be needed to combat those snakes."_

_ "They are correct," Hiruzen said. "Your toads are the only other summoning contract that any Konoha ninja have that are strong enough to combat Orochimaru's snakes."_

_ "There is a way to stop the Shodaime and Nidaime if Orochimaru is able to summon them," Naruto said. "Kabuto, Orochimaru's right hand man, used the __**Edo Tensei**__ almost exclusively during the war so we got too much experience in fighting against resurrected ninja and I was able to come up with a pair of seal that would freeze the ninja and then release the contained soul."_

_ "You were able to do that!" Jiraiya exclaimed. Naruto nodded._

_ "Yes, during this month break when I'm not training, I can create at least five tags of each seal and then give them to you Sandaime-sama," he said. _

_ "So what else can you do gaki?" Jiraiya asked. "You say you were able to complete the __**Rasengan**__ and create several high-level seals."_

_ "I was chosen by the people of Konoha to become the Rokudaime for a reason Ero-Sennin," Naruto said with a slight edge. "I was a Sage, had a working relationship with Kurama, the furball that tou-san sealed in my gut, a Seal Master and was the second man to garner a SSS-class rating in the Bingo Book. I also mastered the __**Hiraishin**__ and become advanced enough in its use to create seal for it without using a kunai. So you tell me Ero-Sennin, do I pass your test?"_

_ Jiraiya and Hiruzen were stunned speechless at Naruto's 'credentials'. "How did you lose?" Jiraiya gaped._

_ "Because we weren't ready," Naruto said. "And Orochimaru and Madara were stronger than anyone could possibly imagine."_

_ "I see," Hiruzen said. "So then, what shall we do to welcome my wayward student back home?"_

_**Furasshubakku no Jutsu **_**(Flashback Jutsu)**

"So how was Oro-teme able to escape from you jiji?" Naruto asked.

"I underestimated my student," Hiruzen said heavily, wincing at the pain shooting up his now-gone arm. "Your seals worked perfectly Naruto-kun and Orochimaru was quite angry when he saw that his other trump card failed but I am old. Ten, maybe even five years ago, I would have beaten him quite handily but in that time, I have grown complacent in my training while Orochimaru has continued to gain strength even in his perverse ways. I did manage to use that third seal you gave me Naruto-kun to poison Orochimaru. How did you manage to come up with a seal that would hold a Biju's chakra?"

"I actually started working on it after I accidently lost control of Kurama and injured Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "She told me that Kurama's chakra acted like a poison to someone who wasn't accustomed to it. And I knew that unless we found a way to seriously injure Orochimaru, the timeline would become very messed up, not that it didn't anyway."

"So Orochimaru kidnapped Sasuke after he fled from our fight," Hiruzen said.

"No," Naruto said. "Sasuke went willingly. After Oro-teme ambushed us, Sasuke pledged himself to Orochimaru's teachings. This wasn't like the previous timeline when Sasuke left by himself."

"Word has certainly spread throughout the village about Sasuke leaving, though most think that he was kidnapped," Hiruzen said.

"They will always believe that Sasuke can do know wrong because he is the Last Uchiha," Shikamaru said. "While it will be mendokusē to deal with the Council, we have to get the village to see that Sasuke defected willingly to an S-ranked missing nin."

"We will need to send the hunter nins after Sasuke," Hiruzen said. "And I will have Sasuke put in the Bingo Book as a B-ranked threat."

"That won't do much good," Naruto said. "Orochimaru won't let Sasuke out of his sight now that he has him in his clutches, so tell the hunters that it is an approach with extreme caution since they will have to go up against an S-rank criminal in Orochimaru as well as an A-rank with Kabuto."

"We have some time," Jiraiya said. "Sasuke isn't very strong, so Orochimaru won't want to transfer himself to the Uchiha until he has trained Sasuke up. From what I've heard rumors about Orochimaru's jutsu, he can only transfer his soul once every three years and also with that poison sensei used on him, he'll want to make sure that nothing goes wrong with the transfer."

"Correct Jiraiya-sama," Shikamaru said. "We have some time to minimize the damage that this has done to the timeline. Sandaime-sama, we will need a new Hokage once everything settles down."

"I will deal with that and the Council, I believe it is time that they realize just who rules this village," Hiruzen said.

"Good because you are going to get your chance," Naruto said. "There's an ANBU waiting outside. I'm guessing that the Council is making a power play."

A masked ANBU member entered the room and stood at attention.

"What is it?" Hiruzen asked.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you have been summoned by the Council," the ANBU said.

"On whose authority?" Naruto asked.

"The Elders."

"I am a ninja of Konoha, just like you are, and all ninja are under the authority of the Hokage alone. So the Council and Elders have no authority over my actions. But since this will be so mendokusē anyway, we will be there in roughly an hour."

"I'm sorry Uzumaki but I was given express orders to bring you before the Council immediately," the ANBU said.

"You do know how that man is lying in bed right?" Jiraiya growled.

"Hai Jiraiya-sama, that is Hokage-sama," the ANBU said.

"Yes, and as an ANBU you answer only to me," Hiruzen said sharply. "We will appear _before_ the Council when we are able and not a moment sooner. Dismissed!"

The ANBU stiffened before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"This isn't going to be pretty," Naruto said.

"No it won't be but it is a long time coming," Hiruzen said. "Come along, let us go see what the honorable Council wants."

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"What is the meaning of this?" Hiruzen barked as he, Jiraiya, Naruto and Shikamaru entered the Village Council chambers. "This Council was not scheduled to meet today, and why wasn't I, the _Hokage_, notified of this unscheduled meeting."

Several of the council members looked away from the Hokage, though most looked unconcerned at the fact that they were facing down at four of the most powerful ninja in the entire village.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you were summoned to appear before us, the village Council, nearly an hour ago," Homura snapped glaring down at the blonde boy who just wiggled a finger in his ear ignoring the older man.

"I don't answer to you old man," Naruto snapped. "I am a genin of Konohagakure no Sato, the only people with any authority over me are my sensei, Hatake Kakashi, and the Hokage, are you either of them _sir_?"

"Silence boy!" a council member roared. "We are the Council of Konoha, the supreme authority of this village!"

"Really?" Hiruzen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Enough of this!" Danzo shouted, sending a glare that promised untold pain and suffering at the stupid council member. "Uzumaki Naruto you are before this Council to decide upon your punishment."

"And what am I being punished for? It certainly not for saving the village from a rampaging jinchuriki," Naruto said.

"Silence!" Koharu screamed. "You know fully well what you did _boy_! You allowed Uchiha Sasuke to be kidnapped by Orochimaru."

"There are several things wrong with your accusation Councilman," Naruto said airily, though his eyes had grown icy cold. "First off, how do you know that it was Orochimaru that 'took' Sasuke? The only people who were at the sight of the battle were my teammate Haruno Sakura, the Kazekage's children and myself. I have only given my report to Hokage-sama, so how exactly do you know what transpired in the forest?"

"We have our sources," Homura said quickly.

"So you mean you had men following me and yet they did nothing to prevent Sasuke for being 'kidnapped' by Orochimaru," Naruto said. "Oh and you say Sasuke was kidnapped by Orochimaru, well if you had read my report or listened to your own people, Uchiha Sasuke defected willingly to Orochimaru for the promise of power."

"LIES!" the Council roared.

"What is your proof that my claims are the lies?" Naruto countered. "I also believe that you are forgetting the fact that Orochimaru is one of the Sannin, an S-ranked criminal, and I am just a rookie genin only four months out of the Academy."

"Irrelevant!" Koharu shouted. "You are a ninja of Konohagakure no Sato, how could you let Uchiha-sama be kidnapped, you should have lain down your life in the defense of his!"

"Why would I give my life to save that back-stabbing, traitorous teme?" Naruto growled. "Get it through your heads, Uchiha Sasuke WILLINGLY defected from the village! He does not deserve someone sacrificing his or her life for his. Even then I almost died as Orochimaru ambushed us and stabbed me with his sword in the chest."

"That is enough!" Hiruzen roared as the Council made to decry Naruto. "I am the Sandaime Hokage of this village. I RULE this village my word is law! For too long has this 'honorable' Council taken liberties that are not theirs to make! This is a NINJA village, run by ninja, protected by ninja, not civilians! Naruto-kun gave me his report when he first awoke after nearly being killed by Orochimaru, and I believe him. Unless you have a report from Haruno Sakura or one of Kazekage-dono's children, who were actually there, then Naruto-kun's report is the one we will be using!"

"But what of that _boy's_ hatred of Uchiha-sama?" one of the civilian council members sneered. "He has repeatedly disrespected Uchiha-sama, so how can we know that _he_ is being truthful?"

"It isn't a secret that I didn't like Sasuke during the Academy, or during the last few months as teammates under Hatake Kakashi but to say that I would purposely falsify my report impugns my honor, and that is something I would never do, no matter what you might say. Also, it wouldn't do you to dishonor my ancestors, ancestors that have kept you all safe from a certain furball since the creation of this village!"

"What are you talking about?" one of the council shouted. "You don't have any ancestors!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "My clan, the Uzumaki clan, was the ruling clan of Uzushiogakure no Sato in Uzu no Kuni, before it was destroyed at the end of the _**Dainiji**__** Ninkai Taisen**_ by a combined effort of Kumo, Kiri and Iwa. Two members of my clan held back the power of the Kyubi from destroying this village Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kushina, before myself. The spiral symbol upon Konoha's jonin and chunin jackets was the symbol of my clan, and it was because of Uzushio and Konoha's close relationship that my clan allowed this to continue."

"Back to the matter at hand," Hiruzen said. "Does the Council have any other evidence that Naruto allowed Sasuke to be kidnapped, aside from prejudicial ramblings? I didn't think so, so with the evidence that I have seen, I have no choice but to label Uchiha Sasuke as a missing nin from the village of Konohagakure no Sato, he will be considered a B-rank threat with an cautious approach order due to the fact that he will most likely be under close observation from the S-rank criminal Orochimaru."

"You can't do that! What about the _**Sharingan**_? We will look weak to the other villages without it," another civilian shouted.

"I am the HOKAGE! And I rule this village!" Hiruzen roared, flooding the room with KI causing everyone aside from Naruto, Jiraiya and Shikamaru to call into their seats. "Uchiha Sasuke will be placed in the Bingo Book as a B-rank missing ninja and that is FINAL! And I will be dissolving this Council under the Shodaime's Emergency Power Acts decree, as we are at war with Otogakure no Sato! You are all dismissed!" he added at the uproar that was building from the Council.

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"Wow jiji, you really stirred up the hornet's nest," Naruto said as he, Shikamaru, Jiraiya and Hiruzen entered the Hokage's office.

"Jiraiya-kun, I want you to find Tsunade as soon as possible," Hiruzen ordered. "Bring her home! She's skirted her duties as one of my ninja for long enough. I don't care if you have to drag her back kicking and screaming."

"Hai sensei!" Jiraiya said. "Hey gaki, you said last time that you came with me to find Tsunade, you up for another trip?"

Naruto nodded. "Give me a few days to get back to 100%," he said. "She should be in Tanzaku Gai in about a week or so, so we have some time."

"Perhaps you should contact Kakashi and tell him that you will be leaving with Jiraiya," Hiruzen said.

"Maa, maa," Naruto said. "But you are probably right, I know that Kakashi-sensei must have some questions after I showed him that I knew the _**Rasengan**_ during the invasion."

"Oh I'm sure that Kakashi-kun will be looking for you Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said. "You and Shikamaru-kun should get going. Shikamaru if you would come back to my office tomorrow morning with your tou-san, we need to discuss our plans regarding Oto and your future knowledge."

"Hai Sandaime-sama," Shikamaru said before he left the office.

"Naruto-kun, since you already know of your heritage, I think it is time for you to receive this," Hiruzen said getting up from his desk and approached the portraits of the former Hokages. He channeled some chakra and there was a click coming from behind his own portrait. The picture swung upward reveling a small, hidden compartment where two scrolls were laying.

"Those are my tou-san and kaa-san's scrolls, correct?" Naruto asked.

Hiruzen nodded. "Correct," he said. "Minato-kun left them in my care just before he passed, told me to give them to you when you became a Chunin."

"Last time, I didn't even become a Chunin before the war," Naruto chuckled darkly.

"Well that changes now," Hiruzen said. "Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, in recognition of your skills shown during this year's Chunin Selection Exam as well as the leadership abilities you showed during the invasion, I bestow upon you the rank of Chunin." He unfurled the yellow-bordered scroll and unsealed a battered Konoha vest. "This was your father's chunin and jonin vest, it is only right that you receive it."

Naruto gingerly took the battered vest and slipped it on. "Arigato Hokage-sama," he whispered.

"No Naruto-kun, thank you," Hiruzen said. "Now you know where your father's home is correct?" Naruto nodded. "I think it would be wise for you to take up residence there, as I'm sure that once word gets out that Sasuke has been marked as a missing nin, the Council will try to pin blame on you."

"Typical, but I can deal with it," Naruto said. He cradled the two scrolls as if they were his newborn children. "Thank you jiji," he added.

"Of course Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said with a broad smile.

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"Shikamaru there you are!" a grating but welcome voice cried out as the Nara heir left the Hokage Tower. It was his team. Images of their deaths flitted in front of his eyes, Asuma badly burned and bleeding out from the wounds given to him Hidan, Ino's broken and bleeding body surrounded by white Zetsu clone bodies, Choji's emancipated body after using the red chili pill. Tears spilled from the boy's dark eyes, he spun around to hastily wipe them clear before the others could tell.

"Where the hell have you been?" Ino shouted. "We've been looking all over for you! You were probably just lazing around."

"Mendokusē woman," Shikamaru muttered.

"What was that?" Ino growled.

"So Shikamaru what were you doing with the Hokage?" Asuma asked.

"Nothing much," Shikamaru said. "Hokage-sama wanted to know about what happened when Naruto, Sakura and I went after the Uchiha during the invasion."

"I can't believe that Naruto would let Sasuke-kun just get kidnapped like that," Ino cried. "My poor…" Ino was suddenly cut off as Shikamaru's shadow had sprung forward and wrapped her body up.

"Shikamaru!" Asuma barked. But Shikamaru ignored the older ninja.

"Don't you dare besmirch the name of Uzumaki Naruto," Shikamaru growled. "Uchiha Sasuke defected from the village of his own free will. Naruto did all he could to help defend the village during the invasion, including saving your precious _Sasuke-kun_ from Gaara when he lost control. After Naruto-sama beat Gaara, Orochimaru and his goons ambushed Naruto and stabbed him in the chest with a sword. Then Sasuke left with Orochimaru because the bastard was promised more power."

"Shikamaru!" Asuma growled as he pulled out his trench knives. "Release Ino!"

Shikamaru grunted and released his jutsu. Ino collapsed to the ground, clutching her throat and gasping for breath.

"I will not have anyone disrespect Naruto," the shadow user growled. "Least of all a pathetic excuse for a kunoichi like you are Ino."

Ino's eyes flashed and she leapt to her feet. "How dare…" she began but was cut off by Shikamaru.

"What?" he snapped. "You know it's true. You don't deserve to be a shinobi; all you care about is your looks and gaining the attention of some worthless traitor! It's been four months since we graduated and yet you haven't learned anything aside from chakra control exercises. During team training, you just sit back and yell at Choji and me. You berate Choji for being slightly overweight and yet you don't know that his family's jutsu use an immense amount of chakra and he needs that extra weight to use them effectively." Tears began to well up in Ino's eyes as Shikamaru tore into her.

"Shikamaru, that's enough," Asuma barked.

"No sensei it isn't," Shikamaru argued. "She needs to hear this or she'll just continue on and end up getting killed or getting one of her teammates killed because they had to cover for her! Ino, you have the potential to become a great kunoichi but you have to make the effort. Nothing truly worth anything comes easily; it requires hard work and sweat. That match between you and Sakura during the preliminaries was pathetic and embarrassing. You besmirched the village and the occupation of being a kunoichi."

"Enough!" Asuma snapped. "You went too far Shikamaru."

"Tch," Shikamaru muttered. "Look Ino, I'm sorry I was so harsh but you need to realize that being a ninja isn't something that can be taken lightly. It is a dangerous thing, you have to be serious about training or you will be killed. Learn more jutsu or master the jutsu you already know, I don't care but Choji, Asuma-sensei and I won't always be around to save your neck." Shikamaru leapt off and disappeared from sight, leaving his team stunned and disillusioned. What they didn't see were the tears streaming down Shikamaru's face, he hadn't wanted to tear into Ino like that but seeing his team acting so carefree had sent him over the edge. He knew how they died for Kami's sake; he had to do all that he could to prevent that from happening again.

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"Yo Naruto!" Kakashi called out as he saw his blonde student streak past him. Naruto skidded to a stop, kicking up a cloud of dust and turned to see Kakashi and Sakura walking toward him.

"Naruto what are you wearing? That's a chunin vest," Sakura asked. "You got promoted!"

Naruto nodded. "Hai, jiji decided to promote me and Shikamaru, I believe, because of our performances during the Finals and during the invasion," he said.

"Oh congratulations," Sakura said. "Have you heard anything about what's going to happen to Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto's smile melted away. "Hai," he said. "I'm sure you've heard what the Council has been trying to spread around, that Sasuke was kidnapped. But we both know that isn't true."

"But Sasuke-kun wasn't in his right mind," Sakura cried. "That seal that Orochimaru put on him controlled him."

"Sakura, you know that isn't true," Naruto frowned. "Sasuke defected to Orochimaru of his own free will. And the Hokage has labeled him a B-rank missing nin."

"WHAT!" Sakura cried. "You're lying! The Hokage wouldn't do that!"

"Sakura! You were there!" Naruto cried. "Sasuke left on his own, what was the one thing that Sasuke wanted more than anything? He wanted the power to take revenge on his brother for killing his clan, and he was willing to do anything to achieve that power."

"But…"

"But nothing Sakura!" Naruto barked. "Face it, Sasuke deserted us, Team 7, he made a deal with the devil himself. Sasuke is blinded by revenge and his lust for power."

"Sakura, Naruto is right," Kakashi said. "Sasuke chose his path, now it is time to chose ours."

"What's going to happen to Team 7 then?" Sakura asked.

"Most likely it will be disbanded," Kakashi said. "Naruto has been promoted, so he'll be taking missions that a genin wouldn't, or Naruto will stay attached to our team and we'll be given a new teammate."

"I talked with the old man about our team and he said that he won't disband Team 7, at least not yet. He's going to give us some time off then we'll be given some missions to see if we can handle the workload as well if we are still loyal to Konoha."

"You can't be serious!" Sakura cried. "Of course we are loyal to the village."

"Think about it Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "We just had our teammate defect to an S-ranked criminal, some people are going to be suspicious of us because of that. Also Sakura, I think you should take this time off to figure out if you still want to be a ninja, and what type of ninja you want to be?"

"What!" Sakura cried. "Of course I want to be a ninja, how could you say that?"

"Why did you become a ninja in the first place?" Naruto asked. "Was it to protect the village or to impress Sasuke?"

"Naruto," Kakashi said in a warning tone but Naruto just ignored him.

"Look, Sakura if you only became a ninja just to impress Sasuke, then you are of no use to the village as a shinobi," Naruto said. "This isn't some sort of fairy tale where a white knight will swoop in to save the damsel in distress. If you can't take this seriously, then you will be killed. Kakashi-sensei and I won't always be there to cover for you. I know this is hard for you to hear but it's the truth. If you want my opinion, I think you'd be perfect as a medical ninja or a genjutsu mistress like Kurenai-sensei. You have the best chakra control of anyone in our generation and possibly some of the best in the entire village. Why not use that gift for the betterment of the village?"

"Do you really think so low of me Naruto?" Sakura growled. "That I would just become a ninja because of some boy!"

"I don't know Sakura," Naruto said. "I mean all throughout the Academy you just fawned over Sasuke like Ino and the other girls, except for Hinata. That was all you talked about, how you wanted to grow up and marry Sasuke, so I assumed that was why you became a ninja. If I was wrong, I'm sorry Sakura-chan."

"Well you were partially wrong and partially right," Sakura admitted. "My father was a ninja and was killed just before the Kyubi attack thirteen years ago. So I wanted to become a ninja to honor his memory and sacrifice but my mother was against it because she was afraid that if I become a ninja, she would lose me too. But when she realized that I wouldn't be swayed, she convinced me to try and impress Sasuke-kun in order to join a noble clan."

Naruto hung his head; he had forgotten that he and 'future' Sakura had had this same conversation during the aftermath of Pein invasion. It was when Naruto had told Sakura about his own parentage.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan, it's just the Council tried to pin the blame on Sasuke leaving on me," Naruto said. "So I'm a little pissed off right now, but that doesn't give me the right to take it out on you."

"They did what?" Kakashi shouted. "They tried to blame you."

"What do you expect Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said.

"Why would they do that?" Sakura asked.

"Come on Sakura-chan, I'm sure you've seen how I'm treated around the village," Naruto said. "The Council is worse, to them I don't even deserve to live in the village let alone be a ninja. I was kicked out of the Orphanage when I was five years old because the matron didn't want me to corrupt the other children. I eat at Ichiraku's so much because that's the only place where I can eat at all, all the other places either refuse me service or inflate the prices so much that I can't afford to eat there."

Sakura felt tears spill down her cheeks at Naruto's story. She knew that she was one of the most egregious offenders, she had always thought that Naruto was just a baka, a failure who was just trying to drive a wedge between her and Sasuke but during the Second Exam, seeing Naruto fighting so hard against Orochimaru and then beating Kiba and Neji, and finally seeing him take on Gaara had opened her eyes. She was the true dead last of Team 7, the weight holding them down. She never trained outside team training, thinking that she didn't need it. But the Exams and the invasion had opened her eyes.

"Look, I'm going with Ero-Sennin on a mission to try and track down this Tsunade lady," Naruto said.

"Tsunade-sama!" Kakashi gasped. "The third of _**Densetsu no Sannin**_, the legendary medical ninja, granddaughter of the Shodaime and great-niece of the Nidaime Hokages! That Tsunade?"

Naruto nodded. "Jiji wants her to come back to the village and become the new Hokage," he said. "Sakura-chan, why don't you train with Kakashi-sensei or Kurenai-sensei while I'm gone and then when we get back, if we find Tsunade, maybe you can see if you can learn from her. I heard that she has this technique that can make her have superhuman strength because of her chakra control."

Naruto hid a grin at the gleam that appeared in Sakura's eyes. She turned to Kakashi with wide eyes. "Don't worry Sakura," Kakashi said. "I'll talk with Kurenai about helping you train in genjutsu while we work on your taijutsu and ninjutsu."

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried. "And thank you Naruto."

"Don't worry about it Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "I know that you'll do great, you'll do great at anything you put your mind too." Sakura blushed. "Well I better get going," he said. "I'm still recovering from the invasion and Ero-Sennin wants us to begin searching as quickly as possible."

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It was another three days before Naruto was back to 100%, all of Orochimaru's poison had been expelled from his body and Kurama's chakra was now slowly working on his other injuries. He met up with Shikamaru, the Hokage and Jiraiya to discuss their plans for the future, they brought in Shikamaru's father and Shikamaru was given his chunin vest, though he still took it with resignation much to the amusement of Naruto.

"So gaki, you ready?" Jiraiya asked as Naruto appeared beside him at the Konoha gates in a flash of yellow.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't Ero-Sennin," Naruto said. "Let's just get going and find Tsunade-baa-chan."

"You know if you try and call her that, she'll kill you," Jiraiya said.

"Never did it during the last timeline," Naruto said as they exited the village. "She would smack me around some but still, she loved me too much to do any real harm."

Jiraiya chuckled. "You're just like your old man," he said. "Kushina was the one who wore the pants in that relationship let me tell you. You Namikazes will do anything to for the women in your lives."

"Just like you and baa-chan then Ero-Sennin," Naruto quipped.

"What?" Jiraiya spluttered.

"Oh come on Jiraiya, I know how you pinned after Tsunade-baa-chan all these years," Naruto chuckled.

"I don't love Tsunade-hime like that," Jiraiya sputtered.

"Who said anything about love Ero-Sennin," Naruto said. "I know how you feel about Tsunade, don't worry Ero-Sennin, your secret is safe with me."

"Gaki," Jiraiya muttered. "Say Naruto, what would you say were at rated at? I know you said you were a SSS-rank ninja in the 'future', wow this stuff is confusing, but what about right now?"

Naruto sighed. "I'm not sure," he said. "If I had to guess, I would say between low-jonin to jonin level. My chakra reserves are larger than anyone in the village, even without Kurama, my taijutsu is jonin level; genjutsu is chunin level though that's because I can't cast any. And my ninjutsu is ANBU-level or higher. Oh, and without my seals, I'm probably as fast as Gai is when he takes off his weights."

"What about the _**Rasengan**_?" Jiraiya asked. "You said that you had completed it in the future but can you do it now?"

"I'm not sure," Naruto answered. "I know that I couldn't use it to its fullest potential without _**Sage Mode**_ or _**Biju Mode**_. I can try though when we get farther away from the village and stop somewhere for the night." Jiraiya nodded.

It took the pair a day to reach Tanzaku Gai at the leisurely pace that Jiraiya had set. That night after Jiraiya had found a hotel for the pair, they slipped out of the town and found a large clearing in the forest for where Naruto could try and create the _**Futon: Rasenshuriken**_. He created a _**Kage Bunshin**_ and used that clone to fuse his _**Futon**_ chakra with the _**Rasengan**_. The jutsu was completed but Naruto knew that it would be only after he gained _**Sage Mode**_ or Kurama regained enough chakra for them to enter _**Biju Mode**_.

On the second day of their stay in Tanzaku Gai, Jiraiya left to conduct his research as well as scout out information on Tsunade, even though Naruto had told that he expected her and Shizune to arrive that night or the next morning. A sharp knock on the door awoke Naruto, who had passed out from exhaustion the previous night training.

"What's wrong Ero-Sennin, already shot down?" Naruto called through the door as he approached it. He swung the door open and instantly began reciting all the curse words that he and Shikamaru had learned during their previous lifetime.

"Hello there Naruto-kun, we need you to come with us," Uchiha Itachi said gently as he and Kisame stood in the hallway in front of him.

"Uchiha Itachi," Naruto said calmly, though inside he was still cursing up a storm at not recalling that in the previous timeline, he and Jiraiya had run across the Akatsuki pair as well.

"So this is the Kyubi jinchuriki, eh Itachi-san?" Kisame chuckled. "Doesn't look like much, kind of a runt don't you think?"

Naruto gritted his teeth as he tried to let the insults wash over him. He knew that he was short, though it wasn't all his fault. Being only able to eat ramen had some detrimental effects on his health, namely his height but that was more the villagers' fault than his own due to their bigotry and prejudice. It was only during his travels with Jiraiya that his appetite began to branch out though he still adored ramen. This time around, Naruto used the _**Henge**_ to fool the villagers into selling him food at normal prices during the month long break between the Second and Third Exams. But just a month of eating healthy can only do so much.

"Come along Naruto-kun," Itachi said again, his _**Sharingan**_ morphing in his eyes. Naruto resolutely starred at Itachi's mouth.

"You must think I'm an idiot to look you in the eyes Itachi," Naruto said. "Your prowess with the _**Sharingan**_ is legendary, and I have no desire to be placed in a genjutsu by the likes of you."

Kisame laughed. "Oh this one has got some balls, eh Itachi-san?" he said. "Can I cut off his legs? He won't need them."

"Kisame," Itachi said with a slight edge to it. "Leader-sama wishes Naruto-kun to be alive when he retrieve him."

"Oh come on Itachi-san, he's a jinchuriki," Kisame argued. "A little thing like losing some limbs isn't going to kill the gaki."

"You do realize that I'm right here," Naruto said. "But please continue, this is certainly better than the crap that they try and put on television."

Kisame chuckled once more and Naruto thought he even saw Itachi's lips twitch before it was gone as the mask of emotionless killer was replaced.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun," Itachi said. "But you will have to come with us."

"Sorry, I don't swing that way," Naruto said. "Not to say you and fishcake aren't attractive but you have the wrong sort of plumbing for me. Maybe you should talk with Orochimaru and your little brother Itachi, I'm sure they would love to go out with you two."

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about Naruto-kun?" he asked, a sliver of emotion coloring his voice for the first time.

"You haven't heard," Naruto said. "Your little brother, Sasuke, the Emo King, turned traitor during the invasion last week. Ran off with Orochimaru after the Hebi-teme promised him the power to kill you. But between you and me, I think it might have been more than that."

The _**Sharingan**_ vanished from Itachi's eyes at this. "Sasuke," he whispered. "What have you done?"

"You know, you really fucked your brother up when you killed the Uchiha clan," Naruto said. "What did you really expect to happen when you told him to hate you, and all that? It also didn't help that the village treated the brat like he was the second coming of the Sage, kid has a massive inferiority and superiority complex."

"Itachi!" Kisame growled. "We'll deal with your stupid brother later, besides I've always wanted a rematch against that snake. But let's get this done first."

Naruto dashed back into the hotel room and scooped up his gear and turned to rush out the window when a massive blue blur appeared at his side.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you gaki?" Kisame grinned, reveling a mouthful of shark's teeth.

"Not really," Naruto said, gritting his teeth as he slashed a kunai at the former-Kirigakure ninja. Kisame released Naruto and reached over his shoulder.

"Make this fun why don't you?" Kisame chuckled.

Naruto didn't answer he just threw his kunai at the giant ninja, who easily dodged the blade causing it to crash through the window and disappear from sight.

"Pretty poor effort for a ninja," Kisame said bringing his massive, bandaged-wrapped blade into play. Naruto just grinned.

"Kisame, that's not the real one!" Itachi shouted as Kisame brought his blade down at Naruto who just stood there. Suddenly Naruto exploded into smoke, filling the room.

"What the!" Kisame cried as the smoke cleared, reveling an empty hotel room. "What just happened?"

"That was a _**Kage Bunshin**_," Itachi explained.

"Where's the original then?" Kisame asked.

"Gone," Itachi said. "It seems that we underestimated Naruto-kun. Come on Kisame, we better go. We can't hope to find Naruto-kun before he finds Jiraiya."

Kisame growled but nodded. The pair vanished from the hotel room in a swirl of crows and water.

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"Where the hell have you been?" Naruto shouted as he found Jiraiya stumbling out of a brothel with two women draped all over him.

"Go away gaki can't you see I'm busy," Jiraiya slurred.

"So you're too busy to keep track of two S-rank criminal missing nins that just tried to kidnap me," Naruto growled.

"What?" Jiraiya cried.

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigakure Kisame appeared at the hotel room door and were trying to kidnap me because of the furball," Naruto said.

"Ladies I'm sorry but I'm going to have to cut this night short," Jiraiya said seriously. "My deepest apologies for the disruption of your night. Come on gaki, we need to get moving."

Jiraiya grabbed Naruto by the collar and dragged him off down the street, the blonde boy shouting obscenities at the white haired pervert.

"Look here gaki," Jiraiya said as they entered a small food stand. "You're going to have to come straight with me, you got that? No more holding out information."

"Hai sensei," Naruto said heavily. "I'm sorry, it just slipped my mind that those two would appear when they did. I was sure that Sasuke defecting would mess up the timeline. I was wrong, though I do think that I put Orochimaru's worst nightmare on his tail. Itachi didn't know that his precious little brother had turned traitor, so with any luck, Itachi will go after the snake and keep him occupied for the time being."

Jiraiya nodded. "How did you manage to escape from those two?" he asked. "You couldn't fight them, let alone win, no offence but those two are among the strongest S-rank criminals alive."

"They underestimated me," Naruto said. "While they were squabbling like a married couple, I ran back into the room, made a _**Kage Bunshin**_ and then transformed myself into a kunai. I had my _**Kage Bunshin**_ 'confront' Kisame by throwing its 'kunai' out the window."

"Clever," Jiraiya said. "You certainly are living up to your name as the most unpredictable ninja around."

"Thank you Jiraiya-sensei."

"Oh ho, so now it's Jiraiya-sensei, no more Ero-Sennin," Jiraiya said.

"No, you're still a shameless pervert so Ero-Sennin will stay until you stop peeping on women."

"That'll never happen."

"Then you shall remain Ero-Sennin," Naruto said. "Looks like we found our quarry though. At your six o'clock, about four booths back, facing away from you."

Jiraiya quickly looked over his shoulder and saw that Naruto was correct. "Nicely spotted gaki," he said. "Why don't we go introduce ourselves to those lovely ladies."

Naruto rolled his eyes but stood and followed Jiraiya.

"Well hello there hime," Jiraiya said happily as he and Naruto reached the last booth where a blonde woman with two pigtails was sitting across from a brown-haired woman holding a pig that was wearing a pearl necklace. The blonde woman turned to revel the largest bust that Naruto had ever seen; it still stunned him even though he had known Tsunade for years.

"What the hell are you doing here, Jiraiya?" Tsunade snapped glaring at her former teammate. "And who's the brat?"

"My new apprentice," Jiraiya answered smoothly. "And can't a former teammate drop by and catch up."

"Cut the crap Jiraiya, why are you here?"

Jiraiya's face grew serious. "I'm sure you heard about the invasion of the village by Oto and Suna," he said. Tsunade nodded. "Well, Sensei was seriously injured by _Orochimaru_ and he wants you to return."

"Never," Tsunade cried. "I swore to never to return to that place. You know that."

"It wasn't a request Tsunade," Jiraiya said forcefully. "The Hokage has ordered you to return to the village. If you refuse, well then, sensei will have no choice but to label you and Shizune missing nins and put you in the Bingo Book."

"He can't do that!" Tsunade shouted.

"He's the Hokage!" Naruto barked. "Of course he can."

"Tsunade-hime, sensei needs you back," Jiraiya said. "We're at war with Oto, with _Orochimaru_. He's agreed to let you take over the hospital and let you run it as you see fit. Just think, you can train a whole new generation of medical ninja just like you wanted to those years ago."

Tsunade frowned. That had been her dream since the _**Second Great Ninja War**_, to create a functional medical corp that would drastically improve mission efficiency as well as save countless lives. But the Council shot down her suggestion because of the amount of time and effort it took into training a competent medical ninja, and Konoha desperately needed soldiers to fight in the war.

"Forget it," Tsunade snapped. "I will not return, I don't care what you do."

"If you run, then I will come after you and stop you myself," Naruto growled. "I won't let you throw away your life, or Shizune-nee-chan's life like that."

"Please, like you could stop a fly," Tsunade scoffed. "You're what a fresh out of the Academy genin, Jiraiya, if this is your newest apprentice, then you've really fallen. Your last one knew how to respect his betters, as well as seemed much more."

"Please, if you think you're my better then you've gone around the bend," Naruto said. "And I know it's hard to match up against my tou-san but I will surpass him and become the greatest Hokage that Konoha has ever seen. Because being Hokage is my dream."

Tsunade froze and blinked rapidly. Then what Naruto said caught up to her. "Wait, tou-san? Who are you gaki?"

"Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, baa-chan," Naruto said easily. "I made a promise to jiji that I would bring you back to the village, and that's what I'm going to do. I never go back on my word, that's my nindo."

"You're Kushina and Minato's brat, the Kyu…"

"Stop right there baa-chan, if you say anymore I'll be forced to kill you for reveling two SS-rank state secrets of Konoha," Naruto said heavily. "I really don't want too, but I will do what I must."

"Come on gaki, do you really think you could kill a Sannin? You're what twelve, maybe thirteen?"

"I'm fourteen, as you know Tsunade," Naruto said sharply. "And you should know better to underestimate an Uzumaki but if you really want to be made a fool of, then let's take this outside and I'll show you how far you've fallen."

"Watch your mouth brat," Tsunade growled. "I'm a Sannin…"

"Were a Sannin," Naruto said, cutting her off. "You're well past your prime, you might have been an S-rank threat fifteen, maybe even ten years ago but today, you're just a shell of your former self. A-ranked at best, you've let your skills decay and fall apart because you decided to run away like a coward rather than face your fears."

"What do you know about what I've been through?" Tsunade shouted, slamming her fist down on the table snapping it in half.

"Your little brother and fiancé were killed during the wars," Naruto said softly. "You gained a phobia of blood because of that, as well as this cynical attitude toward life and the village. You spit upon their memories by running from what they stood, fought and died for. They didn't die because they were trying to become Hokage; they died because they were ninja. They died giving their lives in defense of our village, they are heroes and yet you disgrace their memories as well as your grandfather's and great-uncle's who helped create Konoha. So you tell me if I don't know about your life."

Tsunade was now trembling with suppressed rage. Her hand shot out and grabbed Naruto by the collar of his chunin vest. "You, me outside right now!" she roared before throwing him back into his seat and storming past them.

"You might have gone a little too far there, gaki," Jiraiya said.

"She needs a wake up call Ero-Sennin," Naruto said. "And I'll be the one to give her that. She's not the only one in the world who has suffered loss, and it's time she acted her age and accepted that."

Naruto left Jiraiya and Shizune sitting at the table and followed Tsunade out of the bar and into the street.

"I'm not sure why I'm even doing this," Tsunade scoffed. "But one finger is all I'm going to need to squash you like a bug twerp."

Naruto just sighed and settled into his stance while Tsunade stood just in a relaxed stance, waiting for Naruto to make a move. With a burst of motion, Naruto grabbed a kunai from his pouch and hurled it at Tsunade who easily leaned out of the way.

"You're going to do better than that," Tsunade said.

"Why do all my opponents underestimate me?" a voice asked from behind Tsunade. Whirling around, Tsunade was stunned to find Naruto standing behind her wearing a bored expression.

"How?" Tsunade gasped.

"It's not that hard," Naruto said, appearing beside her.

"_**Kage Bunshin**_!" she cried. "But you didn't make any hand signs!"

"So?" Naruto shrugged. "Lots of ninja don't use them."

"For the Academy jutsu, or jutsus specific to their clan but for a B-rank kinjutsu, I've never seen that!" Tsunade cried.

"That just shows that you don't know anything about me," Naruto said. "I could have ended this before it even started but…"

With a cry of rage, Tsunade slammed her fist into the ground creating a massive crack in the street. Naruto leapt into the air, his clone dispelling. "So you're finally taking this seriously, eh baa-chan?" Naruto chided as he landed behind Tsunade. Spinning around, Tsunade swung her leg around aiming to knock Naruto's head from his shoulders. Naruto easily ducked under the kick and created a _**Rasengan**_ in his palm.

"You're dead baa-chan," Naruto said as he froze with the _**Rasengan**_ a foot away from her chest.

Tsunade stumbled backward before falling to the ground. "You could have killed me!" she screamed.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I was trying to make a point baa-chan, you've lost your edge," he said. "But I didn't expect you to lose that easily."

"What are you talking about?"

"I held back baa-chan," Naruto said. "If I had truly been your enemy, you would have been dead before you had even realized it. I am my parents' son after all. I don't just know my tou-san's _**Rasengan**_."

"You mean?"

"Maybe we should take this inside," Jiraiya said. "This conversation shouldn't take place where it could be overheard."

**Stats:**

**Nara Shikamaru:**

** At time of travel back to present (Age 21)**

** Speed: 4**

** Strength: 3.5**

** Intelligence: 5+**

** Ninjutsu: 4.5 (**Earth Element, but focuses more on family jutsus**)**

** Genjutsu: 4**

** Taijutsu: 4**

**Stamina: 4**

**Hand Seals: 4**

** After returning to present (Age 13)**

** Speed: 2.5**

** Strength: 2**

** Intelligence: 5+**

** Ninjutsu: 3.5**

** Genjutsu: 2.5**

** Taijutsu: 3**

**Stamina: 2.5**

**Hand Seals: 2.5**

**Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto:**

** At time of travel back to present (Age 22)**

** Speed: 5+**

** Strength: 5**

** Intelligence: 5**

** Ninjutsu: 5 (**wind and water elemental master, can use earth, fire and lightning**)**

** Genjutsu: 3.5 (**can't be placed in one, aside from _**Tsukuyomi**_**) **

** Taijutsu: 5**

**Stamina: 5**

**Head Seals: 5**

** After traveling back to present (Age 14)**

** Speed: 4 (**without seals, with them **3)**

** Strength: 3.5**

** Intelligence: 5**

** Ninjutsu: 4 (**knows all his jutsu but doesn't have chakra control to perform them at 100%)

**Genjutsu: 2.5**

**Stamina: 5**

**Hand Seals: 3.5**

** Taijutsu: 4**

* * *

**A/N: Well, there you go, the second chapter of "_True Meaning of being a Shinobi"_. In this chapter, we got a bit of background information on why Naruto and Shikamaru came back, though there will be some more flashbacks/flashforwards of the future in coming chapters. There is a bit of 'bashing' in this chapter, against Ino, Sakura and Tsunade, though this has purpose. Remember, Naruto and Shikamaru haven't really seen their comrades alive, and they remember their deaths quite vividly. So they use harsh measures to try and get Ino and Sakura to get serious about being a ninja. In regards to Sakura's parents, I felt that this might explain why Sakura was such a fangirl at the beginning of the manga/anime. Please read and review this chapter, and the previous one. Any suggestions on how to make this story better will always be appreciated. Also check out the poll on my profile to help me choose who Naruto is paired up with, if you choose one of the girls not named, drop me a review or PM telling me who you want.**

**Thanks,**

**S.R.W.M.O**


	3. The Leaf's Preparation

**Disclaimer: The _Naruto_ universe is NOT mine! I don't own anything from it. I'm just having some fun in it as well as trying to fix some of the plot holes, while also not creating even more plot holes. Enjoy.**

"All right, what's with all these secrecy?" Tsunade snapped. "You two are acting like this is do or die?"

"In a way hime it is," Jiraiya said. He turned to Naruto. "It's your show gaki."

Naruto nodded. "Tsunade, I'm not really from around here," he said. "Wow, that's so cliché don't you thing Ero-sennin? Anyway, what I mean is that I'm from the future, eight years in the future to be precise."

"You're kidding right?" Tsunade scoffed. "Come on gaki you can't expect me to believe that! Time travel is impossible."

"It isn't Tsunade-sama," Naruto said heavily. "In just over three years time, an organization called Akatsuki will nearly succeed in taking over the Elemental Countries and destroy the ninja system as we know it. They successfully capture and seal seven of the nine _**Biju**_ and then unleash them upon the Five Great nations. Kumo, Konoha, Kiri, Suna and Iwa as well as the Iron Country band together in an attempt to combat Akatsuki but one by one the villages fell under the Akatsuki's rule, under Madara's rule."

"Madara, Madara who?" Tsunade interrupted.

"Uchiha Madara," Naruto said.

"He's dead!" Shizune exclaimed. "He died fighting the Shodaime!"

"Unfortunately that was wrong," Naruto said. "He somehow survived that battle and has been slowly regaining his strength and gaining allies. He's the reason for the Bloodline Massacres in Kiri; he is controlling the current Mizukage Yagura through a powerful genjutsu. Madara was also the one who freed Kurama from my kaa-san's seal fourteen years ago and caused him to go on a rampage through the village."

"Kurama?" Tsunade asked. "Wait, you mean the Kyubi has a name?"

"Yes, _he_ does," Naruto said sternly. "Look I know it's weird to think about but the _**Biju**_ were created by the _**Rikud**__**ō**__** Sage**_ when he became the first jinchuriki of the _**Jubi**_."

"_**Jubi**_?" Shizune whispered.

"The Ten-tails," Naruto said. "In the future, Madara attempted to resurrect the _**Jubi**_ and use its power to cast a genjutsu over the entire world." Tsunade and Shizune's eyes were wide at Naruto's tale. "Sounds unbelievable but believe me, it is very real. The only reason he failed was because we were able to destroy the _**Ged**__**ō**__** Maz**__**ō**_ statue that Madara was using to hold back the power of seven of the _**Biju**_. The only two he hadn't captured were the _**Hachibi **_and Kurama. We thought that without the statue holding the _**Biju**_, we had sometime to counterattack but we were wrong."

"Who is we?" Tsunade asked.

"The Shinobi Alliance," Naruto said. "When Akatsuki reveled themselves, the villages decided to create an alliance to help combat Akatsuki. But Madara was able to recapture the escaped _**Biju**_ and reseal them into their former jinchuriki's under his personal control. And then he set them on their former villages. It was a massacre," Naruto trailed off as visions of broken and bleeding shinobi bodies filled his eyes. "I failed them all, I couldn't protect them," Naruto's voice broke as his shoulder's shook with repressed sobs. Shizune looked like she wanted to reach out and give Naruto a hug while Tsunade was watching the younger blonde through narrowed eyes.

"Nice sob story gaki but it will take more than a few fake tears to con…" Tsunade broke off. Naruto was glaring at her with the most hateful and venomous glare that she had ever been on the receiving end. It made her feel only a few inches tall.

"Don't you ever mock the sacrifices that my comrades and precious people made!" Naruto snarled. "They gave their lives in order for me and Shikamaru to return here, I should have died alongside them. I'm just a coward who failed to protect those closest to him, who ran away and let others die for him, I don't deserve the title of Hokage but I will do whatever it takes to stop Madara this time."

"You were the Hokage?" Tsunade asked softly.

"The Rokudaime, yes," Naruto said. "Though it was only for a little under two years before I 'came' back. In fact, you were the one who passed the hat onto me Tsunade-baa-chan."

"Don't call me that gaki," Tsunade growled. "You mean I took up that foolish title, I was the…"

"The Godaime, correct," Naruto said. "And that's why we're here. Jiji wants you to come home and take up the mantle of Hokage perhaps not right away but soon. He's willing to let you set up the hospital however you want too, as well as train the next crop of medical ninja from Konoha. But the village needs all hands on deck."

"Tch, fine," Tsunade said. "We'll leave in the morning."

Naruto nodded and smiled.

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Meanwhile in a cave somewhere deep within **Hi no Kuni**, two figures stood awaiting a signal from their leader. The shorter figure looked deep in thought as he stood apart from his partner.

'_Sasuke,_' Itachi thought. '_What have you done? This wasn't the plan that I had for you. You were supposed to become strong and then come find me to wipe out the sins of the Uchiha clan, returning to the village a hero. What have I done?_'

"Itachi," Kisame barked pulling the Uchiha from his thoughts. The pair felt a slight pressure and knew that it was time. They each made several hand signs before eight other figures appeared, albeit hazily as if they were being seen through smoke.

"Report," a deep, powerful voice asked.

"Hai Leader-sama," Itachi said. "Unfortunately Leader-sama, we failed to capture the Kyubi."

"Why is this?"

"We underestimated how strong and clever Naruto-kun is," Itachi said. "He was able to mislead us by using the _**Kage Bunshin**_ technique as well as the _**Henge**_ technique."

"I see," the hazy figure said.

"Leader-sama, I have a request," Itachi said. Kisame blinked and looked at his partner. Several of the other members of Akatsuki began murmuring amongst themselves. "It revolves around our former associate, Orochimaru."

"What of him?"

"Naruto-kun made a comment while Kisame and I were attempting to capture him that Orochimaru has successfully gained the _**Sharingan**_ or will so. He was able to ensnare Uchiha Sasuke into defecting from Konoha in the aftermath of Oto and Suna's invasion of Konoha."

"And what concern of this is ours?"

"If Orochimaru were to gain the _**Sharingan**_, he would become a serious threat to our plans," Itachi said. "As well, he knows much about our organization already. It would be prudent to eliminate loose ends before they unravel what we have achieved."

The cave fell silent as the group waited from their leader to make a decision. "Very well, you and Kisame may keep an eye out for Orochimaru in the course of pursuing your assignments, each of you will. However, your primary assignments are still your first priority, is that understood?"

"Hai!" echoed around the cave.

"Very well, I will contact you when it is time to begin, dismissed," the leader said before dissolving into haze. The other members of Akatsuki dispersed as well, leaving the cave empty aside from Kisame and Itachi.

"Itachi, are you sure that was wise?" Kisame asked. "I know that you want…" Kisame fell silent at the sight of Itachi's spinning _**Sharingan**_.

"Kisame, come!" he said sharply. "We have a snake to catch and skin."

Kisame's grin broke into a bloodthirsty smile. "That we do Itachi-san, that we do."

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The next morning, the group of Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya and Naruto were making their way out of Tanzaku Gai and beginning their journey back to Konoha.

"How many people know that you and Shikamaru are from the future?" Tsunade asked.

"Just jiji, Ero-sennin, Shizune-nee, Shikaku-san and you," Naruto said.

"Not your senseis, or your teammates?" Shizune asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No, they don't know," he said. "I'm not sure if it would be wise to tell them, especially since we don't know how much the timeline has changed do to jiji surviving the invasion as well as Orochimaru gaining Sasuke earlier this time."

"So gaki, what are you going to do when we get back to the village?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'm going to train my ass off," Naruto said. "The timeline has either changed drastically or has been accelerated do to the changes we've already made. I'm hoping that Itachi will go after Orochimaru, now that the snake has Sasuke. This should slow up both Orochimaru and Akatsuki's plans giving us some time to prepare a counterattack. We also need to start sending out feelers to the other villages, and try and increase relations with them all, even Iwa. Akatsuki will start moving on the jinchuriki soon, if we can convince the other villages to protect their jinchuriki better it will hamper Akatsuki and Madara. Also, something we need to look into is trying to stop the Bloodline Massacres that are going on right now in Kiri. Yagura is under Madara's control right now, if we can free him somehow, we gain a valuable ally as well as take away one of Madara's pawns."

"We'd have to speak with sensei about that," Tsunade said. "We can't just send out a team of ninja into an active war zone like that."

"Jiraiya can use his contacts to get in touch with the rebels," Naruto said. "If we can safely approach them, that will go a long way to helping."

The group returned to the village within a day and was immediately brought in front of Hiruzen, Shikamaru and Shikaku.

"Tsunade-chan, Shizune-chan," Hiruzen said happily. "It warms these old bones to see you two once again."

"It's nice to see you too sensei," Tsunade said shortly, though she had a smile on her face at the sight of her old sensei. "Though you didn't have to send out the pervert and the gaki to come get me."

"Yes well, we need you and Shizune-chan home," Hiruzen said. "I'm sure that Jiraiya-kun and Naruto-kun have briefed you on the situation." Tsunade nodded. "Good, that will sped things up. I am old Tsunade, too old for the responsibility of being Hokage. I shouldn't have come out of retirement when Minato-kun sacrificed himself; in fact I think it would have been better if I had used the _**Shiki Fūjin**_ to seal the fox into Naruto." He waved aside the protests from his students and Naruto. "You know that I speak the truth. But that is in the past now, we can only worry about the future. Now Tsunade, I am extending this offer to you and Shizune, I need you two to totally revamp the hospital. Since the Kyubi attack, the Council was able to garner quite a bit of strength from the Hokage, including taking over the running of the hospital and the Academy, something that we can't have now that we are at war. I enacted the Shodaime's Emergency War Act, which gives the Hokage total control over the village during wartime and effectively stripped the Council of its power. However, I'm sure that they won't take that sitting down. We need to work fast, I wouldn't put it past Danzo or my other former teammates to try and find a way to kick me out of office and put someone more agreeable to their agendas."

"Like hell!" Tsunade shouted. "If any of those old fossils become Hokage, they'll plunge this village into full-time war."

"I agree," Hiruzen said. "Which is why we must work quickly. I have Shikaku-san and several others revamping the Academy's curriculum as well as weeding out the instructors who don't belong there."

"So I can turn the hospital into my own personal playground, right sensei?" Tsunade asked. "I would have total control over how it is run and who I teach?"

"Correct," Hiruzen said.

"Sensei, you've got yourself a deal," Tsunade said.

"Excellent," Hiruzen beamed. "Now onto more serious business. What to do next in regards to Orochimaru as well as Akatsuki?"

"We need to cut off any support that Akatsuki could gain," Shikamaru said. "The reason they were so successful was because no one really thought that they were a threat until it was too late. Madara played this extremely well in taking his time in setting up the board."

"I think first thing we need to do is ensure that the Bloodline Massacres end in a favorable solution for both sides," Naruto said. "And that means, getting Yagura out from under Madara's control as soon as possible. The easiest way to do this would be to make sure that the rebels win."

"Also we need to spread the word about Akatsuki and how they aren't as golden as they appear," Shikamaru said. "We need to remind people that these criminals of the worst kind. A good way to do this would be to put them all in the Bingo Book and make sure it is spread across the countries."

"That should be easy enough," Hiruzen said. "The situation with Kiri will be less so. I am hesitate to send my ninja into an active war zone with little to no Intel on the situation."

"That's what Ero-sennin's spy network is for," Naruto said. "Send him out to find out how the rebellion is faring, who the leaders are if possible and gather some Intel on what's going on. Then we can figure out what to do."

"Jiraiya-kun, do you think you can accomplish this in say a month or so?" Hiruzen asked.

"Of course sensei," Jiraiya said proudly. "I'll leave immediately and send back messenger toads every week."

"Good but be careful," Hiruzen said. "If Naruto-kun is correct, it is possible that Madara may be on the look out."

"Hai sensei," Jiraiya said. The white-haired Sannin left the office in a puff of smoke.

"Jiji, I have a question," Naruto said.

"What is it Naruto-kun?"

"You didn't really order the Uchiha Massacre did you?"

Hiruzen's face paled rapidly at Naruto's question. "I figured this might come up," he said heavily. "So I'm guessing you ran into Itachi at some point on this mission."

"Yes," Naruto said. "He and Kisame are the Akatsuki pair assigned to try and capture Kurama and we ran into them in Tanzaku Gai. I know that the Uchiha were planning a coup but I need to know if it was your decision to have Itachi kill them or someone else's?"

Hiruzen looked even older than his already advanced age indicated. "I did not give Itachi that order," he said. "Though if things didn't change in the near future, I would most likely have had no choice but to issue it."

"So it was Danzo who gave the order," Naruto said. "I figured that it was his doing and not yours."

"I see," Hiruzen said. "Itachi is one of the most loyal ninja I know, he would do anything for the village and for Sasuke."

"Well, I told Itachi that he really screwed Sasuke up with his revenge kick," Naruto said. "I don't know how well Itachi took the information that Sasuke defected to Orochimaru and is completely obsessed with power instead of being the great protector of Konoha that he wanted Sasuke to become. I'm hoping that Itachi will go after Orochimaru in an attempt to rescue Sasuke, that should spilt Itachi's attention between the other jinchuriki and Sasuke, as well as make Orochimaru continue looking over his shoulder."

Hiruzen nodded. "Right then, I believe that that is enough for today," he said. "I'm sure that your team is looking for you Naruto-kun, word of Tsunade returning has spread through the village quite quickly."

"You're probably right jiji," Naruto said. "I did tell Sakura-chan that I thought she could become a great medical ninja."

"Well then, off you go."

"Later jiji."

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"Naruto!" a familiar voice cried out as Naruto leapt across the tops of buildings toward his home. He skidded to a stop just before the edge of an apartment complex and turned around to see Sakura running toward him down on street level. Naruto leapt down from the building and waited for Sakura to catch up.

"I've been looking all over for you Naruto," Sakura said, slightly panting. "I heard that Tsunade-sama has returned to the village, and then I remembered that you said that you thought I could become a great medical ninja. So I was hoping that you could put in a good word for me to Tsunade-sama? Please?" she pleaded, her green eyes turning round and bright.

'_Must resist the puppy-dog eyes!_' Naruto thought as he desperately tried to avoid looking into Sakura's eyes.

"Look Sakura-chan, I did tell Tsunade-baa-chan that my teammate had the potential to become a great medical ninja but she needs to hear it from you not me. If I go to her, it will just seem that I'm asking a favor and that you are almost scared to approach her."

"I am not!" Sakura shouted, a tick mark appearing on her forehead.

"I know that," Naruto said, waving his hands in front of himself in an attempt to calm Sakura down. "But think about it from Tsunade-baa-chan's view, she wants students who are willing to learn and aren't afraid of failing."

Sakura nodded. "You're right Naruto," she said. "Thank you for the recommendation but if I don't do this on my own, then I'll never catch up to you and Sas…"

"I get it Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "I think that Tsunade-baa-chan went home after meeting with jiji this afternoon but I'm sure she'll be at the hospital tomorrow if you want to try her then."

"I'll do that Naruto, and thanks again," Sakura said.

"So Sakura-chan, what were doing while I was gone?" Naruto asked.

"I've been training with Kakashi-sensei on my taijutsu and my stamina, and Kurenai-sensei gave me some genjutsu scrolls and exercises to improve my chakra capacity."

"That's great Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "What do you want Kakashi-sensei?" he added. Sakura yelped in fright as Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves beside the pair.

"How long have you noticed me Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Since Sakura called out," Naruto said. "I could sense you trailing her and me. So what do you want sensei?"

"I just had some questions for you Naruto," Kakashi said.

"Like what?"

"Well, where did you learn the _**Rasengan**_ and why were you hiding all these new skills?"

"Ero-sennin taught me the _**Rasengan**_ during the break between the Second and Third Exams," Naruto said.

"You completed the _**Rasengan**_ in just a month!" Kakashi cried. "But it took…"

"I know it took the Yondaime nearly three years to complete it," Naruto said. Sakura looked between Kakashi and Naruto in awe. Naruto mastered a jutsu that took the Yondaime three years, in only a month! _How strong was Naruto?_' she thought.

"As for my other skills, well I was holding back a lot in the Academy because I figured that if I showed my true skills, I wouldn't make friends and that I didn't want to be singled out for being better than the others. I was already being treated like scum when they thought that I was the dobe, what do you think would happen if they knew how strong I was actually?"

Kakashi nodded while Sakura looked down at the ground, again remembering that she had never treated Naruto very well during the Academy.

"How about a spar then Naruto-kun?" Kakashi asked. He was eager to see how strong his student actually was. A dark cloud fell over Kakashi as he remembered that Naruto never really was 'his' student, since the only thing that he taught either Naruto or Sakura before now was tree climbing. He had spent all his time trying to help Sasuke turn away from his dark path but he had seen the signs that Sasuke was never going to turn away from it. He had taught Sasuke the _**Chidori**_ in hopes of teaching the Uchiha the importance of protecting one's team. Now, his prized jutsu was in the hands of Orochimaru, that feeling made Kakashi want to vomit beneath his mask.

"Sure sensei," Naruto said. "I could use a workout, didn't see much action on this last mission. Care to come along Sakura-chan?"

"Hai," Sakura said. She too wanted to see how strong her blonde teammate really was.

Team 7 made their way to Training Ground 7 where Sakura sat on the sidelines to watch her sensei and teammate spar.

Naruto and Kakashi settled into their stances. "What are the rules Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked as he flexed his fingers, itching to get started.

"Submission," Kakashi said. "Don't hold back Naruto-kun, I want to know how strong you truly are."

"You asked for it Kakashi-sensei," Naruto laughed as he whispered, "_Kai_," under his breath, undoing ¾ of his weight seals. He didn't want to give away all of his secrets just yet. Naruto was sure that Kakashi could feel the audience that they had garnered, just as he could. It seemed like all three Rookie teams as well as Gai's team had shown up to watch them.

"Come on then Kakashi-sensei, let's see what you've got," Naruto chided. Kakashi grinned beneath his mask; he could tell that this was going to be fun.

The pair vanished into thin air and soon only the sound of clanging metal and flashes of kunai or shuriken striking each other were seen.

"Naruto can't be that good," Kiba cried as he struggled to keep up with the fight. "I mean, he was the dead last and failed the graduation exam three times!"

"Don't underestimate him Kiba," Shikamaru said shortly. "Naruto is stronger than any of us here, more likely he's stronger than all of us combined."

"You can't be serious Shikamaru," Ino shouted. "I mean sure, he surprised us when he beat Kiba during the preliminaries and then beating Neji in the Finals was something that I don't think any of us would have expected but to think that he's stronger than all of us is crazy."

"Naruto-kun is strong," Hinata said. She and Neji had their _**Byakugan**_ activated, and yet they were still having trouble keeping up with the fight. Only Gai, Kurenai, Asuma and Shikamaru were able to track Naruto and Kakashi's movements.

Naruto ducked under a vicious spinning kick that would have sent him sailing halfway across the training ground and retaliated with a sweep kick aiming to knock Kakashi off balance. Kakashi easily leapt over the kick.

"_**Kage Bunshin!**_" Naruto shouted as a clone appeared on top of Naruto's back and leapt at Kakashi. Kakashi's visible eye widened as he noticed that Naruto had created the clone without using hand signs. He blocked a kick from the clone, and grabbing its outstretched leg threw the clone aside. It landed heavily roughly fifteen feet away before dispelling in a puff of smoke.

"So Naruto-kun, you can create _**Kage Bunshin**_ without using hand signs," Kakashi said. "Very impressive, but you won't be able to beat me using just clones."

"Oh I wasn't planning on it," Naruto laughed. "_**Futon: Atsugai!**_" A blast of wind spat toward Kakashi, tearing up the ground in its path. The explosion shook the trees that the spectators were watching from, as well as rattled some teeth.

"What was that?" Choji whimpered, completely forgetting about his chips.

"I knew that Naruto had a wind element from what he showed at the Chunin Exams but I thought that all that power came from his using clones to expand," Asuma gaped. "But that _**Futon: Atsugai**_ was amazingly strong. At his age, there would be no way in Kami that I could produce such a strong _**Futon**_ jutsu, hell, that's pretty close to as strong as my jutsus now."

The Rookies (aside from Shikamaru), Team Gai, Kurenai and Gai looked at Asuma in stunned disbelief. Asuma was the strongest _**Futon**_ user in Konoha, not that there were many _**Futon**_ users but for him to say that Naruto was already nearly as strong as himself was a massive shock.

"_**Katon: **__**Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**_" Kakashi shouted as he spat a massive fireball toward Naruto.

"Naruto look out!" Sakura cried as the fireball bore down on the blonde boy. Just before the jutsu struck, the spectators saw a kunai fly into the air and in a streak of yellow light, Naruto appeared above the explosion.

"_**Hiraishin!**_" Kakashi whispered in awe as Naruto landed fifteen feet from him, holding a tri-pronged kunai.

"Not quite Kakashi-sensei," Naruto laughed at the stunned look on his sensei's face. "Just a mix of _**fuinjutsu**_, _**Kage Bunshin**_ and _**Kawarimi**_. Looks pretty close to the legendary _**Hiraishin**_ that the Yondaime used, does it not?"

Kakashi nodded numbly. "So then, that's Ninja Tactical lessons one and two, taijutsu and ninjutsu," Naruto said. "So that just leaves Ninja Tactical lesson three, genjutsu."

Kakashi lifted his headband to revel the _**Sharingan**_ eye that Uchiha Obito had given him nearly two decades ago. "_**Magen: Saiaku Akumu!**_" (Demonic Illusion: Worst Nightmare).

The training ground around Naruto suddenly turned an inky black before the sky turned blood red and all around him were the fallen bodies of his comrades, Sakura, Kakashi, Kiba, Neji, Shikamaru, Hinata, Ino, Tsunade, Jiraiya and many others. Standing above the fallen were copies of an Orochimaru-controlled Sasuke as well as Uchiha Madara. Then the corpses rose from the ground and began chanting, "Failure, failure," over and over again.

Naruto grit his teeth at the illusion. He recognized this genjutsu, the _**Magen: Saiaku Akumu**_. It was one of the first genjutsus that Jiraiya had placed him under during their training trip and he wouldn't let Naruto out of it until the boy had broken through himself. While this was a different vision of Naruto's worst nightmare, it still held much of the same fear, fear of death and fear of failing his precious people.

"Kai!" Naruto cried. His surrounding shimmered for a moment then fell back into focus. "You're going to have to do better than that Kakashi-sensei. I didn't just work on my strengths over the break, I made my weakness into a strength as well."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.

"I had Ero-sennin spam me with high-level genjutsu until I could detect them almost before they affected me," Naruto said. "Also he had me break out of them by freezing my chakra flow and then restarting it. He says that I can detect and break out of any genjutsu except the highest of A-ranks and any S-rank genjutsus that are out there."

"I think that's enough surprises for one day Naruto," Kakashi said. "I can't believe how well you hid your strength, you truly know how to look 'underneath the underneath'. I'm very proud of you, and I'm sorry that I didn't help you gain this strength. I was too focused on Sasuke to see anything else in front of me, and you and Sakura suffered for that."

"It's ok sensei," Naruto said as the pair made their way over to the awestruck spectators. "I know why you had to train Sasuke so much. And you can make it up to Sakura-chan and I by helping up get stronger, and possibly you can tell me about your sensei."

"Why would you want to know about the Yondaime?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, he is the one person I want to surpass so I want to know all about him," Naruto said. "Plus, it would be nice to know more about him than just what his scrolls can tell me."

"How did you get those scrolls?" Kakashi demanded.

"They're mine by right Kakashi, don't forget that," Naruto responded icily.

"You know about your parents?"

Naruto nodded. "I've known for a while," he said. "I think all throughout the Academy I had this feeling in the back of my head that we were connected somehow, and not just because of the furball. Jiji gave me tou-san and kaa-san's scrolls the day I got tou-san's chunin vest."

"I thought that vest looked familiar," Kakashi said. "Your father would be very proud to see you wearing it."

"I know Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said.

"Naruto!" Kiba called out. "How the hell did you get so strong? I mean we could barely keep up with you and Kakashi-sensei! How did the dobe, who failed the graduation exam three times turn out so strong?"

"I trained my ass off Kiba, and then when I couldn't train anymore, I kept going," Naruto said. "But if you'd like, I can show you how I got strong? Hey Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, Asuma-sensei, Gai-sensei, what do you say to having a team training session? All four of our teams together, I mean, since we're all pretty much the same age, it's more than likely that we'll be working with each other for a long time. So why don't we work together now and refine our teamwork during training instead of out in the field where there might not be time."

The four jonin senseis glanced at one another.

"That is a most youthful idea," Gai shouted.

"I agree, though not with the youthful part," Asuma said.

"My students could learn quite a bit from one another," Kurenai said. Kakashi just gave his eye-smile TM and left it at that.

"So then, Naruto and Shikamaru's boot camp from hell begins tomorrow morning, 7am sharp," Naruto chuckled darkly. "Oh and Kakashi-sensei if you are even minute late, say goodbye to your Icha Icha collection."

Kakashi's visible eye widened in horror. "You wouldn't," he whispered.

"Don't test me Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said with a foxlike grin. "You don't know what I'm capable of."

"I'll be good, I'll be good," Kakashi stammered, much like a certain Hyuga. "Just don't hurt the precious, not the precious."

Naruto and Sakura nearly face planted at the sight of their sensei clutching a small orange paperback and petting it like a puppy.

"All right then," Naruto said. "Be here tomorrow morning at 7, or you will regret it."

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"I hate you Naruto, I truly, deeply hate you," Kiba gasped as he collapsed to the ground at 9am.

"Oh come Kiba-kun," Naruto chided. "That was just the warm up, we haven't even gotten to the main course and you're ready to give up. Man you are weak."

"What did you say?" Kiba growled.

"Look around you Kiba, Shikamaru, Lee, Neji and myself were all able to complete the laps easily," Naruto said. "Weren't you the one saying that you would wipe the floor with me back during the preliminaries? What were you doing during that month long break? Just sitting on your butt eating puppy chow, dog breath."

"I trained!" Kiba cried.

"Obviously not enough," Naruto sneered. "Get this through your head, we're at war! And as genin and fresh chunin, we're the ones who are going to have to pick up the slack around the village in regards to defense as well as having to go on dangerous missions with our senseis. And Kiba, war is not a game. There's no place for someone to try and prove themselves as head of the pack during a vital mission. Do you read me?" he finished pining the younger ninja with a harsh glare.

"Hai," Kiba stammered.

"Good," Naruto said brightly. "Up next will be chakra control exercises. Now I'm sure all of you know how to walk up trees, or in the case of Team Gai, walk on water." Getting nods all around Naruto continued, "Well, to truly master tree walking you must be able to stay on the trunk for at least one hour, or be able to easily fight on a vertical surface without having to stop and think about channeling your chakra. During a fight, your opponent won't give you the chance to stop and think to channeling your chakra, you must learn how to do it instinctively."

"How do we do that?" Shino asked. The feral grins that broke out over Naruto and Shikamaru's faces didn't inspire much confidence.

"You all will be made to walk up and down your assigned tree without stopping while Shikamaru and I throw blunted kunai and shuriken at you," Naruto said.

"WHAT!"

"This is practice for when you will have to spilt your attention during a fight," Shikamaru said. "Now get moving."

"_**Kage Bunshin!**_" Eight copies of Naruto appeared and each picked up a set of practice kunai and shuriken.

"Now these won't hurt too much but they will leave bruises so enjoy!" Naruto laughed as his clones charged after the Rookie 8 and Team Gai. "Oh and Neji, Hinata, no using your _**Byakugan**_, that defeats the purpose. You don't want to rely on your _**Byakugan**_ too much or it will become a crutch and limit your potential."

Neji glared at Naruto but did as told while Hinata just nodded.

An hour later each of the genin were battered, bruised and steaming mad at Shikamaru and Naruto. Naruto's clones had been relentless in peppering them with kunai and shuriken. None of the genin had been able to successfully dodge all of the kunai or shuriken; in fact they each had been hit by nearly half.

"Good job," Naruto said. "Much better than I expected. But there is still a lot of improvement to be had. Don't give me that look, this is nothing compared to what I put myself through during my training. We went easy on you guys this time but we will push you all to the limits and beyond. We are the future of the village; it's time to show the world what Konoha is made of."

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It had been three weeks since the introduction of Naruto and Shikamaru's 'Boot Camp from Hell' TM but as each of the genin realized, the results were well worth the pain and suffering they went through. Each had grown nearly twice as strong as they were before the start of 'Boot Camp'. Sakura, Ino and Hinata had grown the most as they each had the lowest chakra capacity aside from Lee, who couldn't train in gaining chakra. Each of their skills in taijutsu, speed and strength had greatly increased as Naruto introduced weight seals to each of them. Gai and Lee were especially happy with the results, as they were able to gain even more speed and strength for their taijutsu.

"All right Naruto," Kiba cried. "Time for a rematch. Today I'm going to beat your ass!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. Kiba had been doing this everyday since the beginning of camp, though Naruto had ignored his 'requests' for a spar. Today was different though, Naruto needed to make a statement that even though each and everyone of his comrades had grown rapidly during the last three weeks, they were still not nearly strong enough for what was coming. They needed to realize that there would always be someone stronger than they were, and if they forgot that important rule, they would be killed.

"All right Kiba, we can spar," Naruto said. "But don't go crying to your mother after I wipe the floor with you, again."

Kiba growled deeply. "Big talk from the dobe," he snarled.

"Watch your tone _genin_," Naruto snapped. Kakashi and the other jonin noticed how Naruto's voice would change when he would give commands. His voice would drop several levels and be heavy with the tone of command and authority, just like a Hokage's would. Kakashi had a flashback to when he was under the Yondaime whenever Naruto spoke in that tone. "Remember I am your superior and can have you put on probation for insubordination, I think I'll suggest to Tsunade-baa-chan that you be given the Tora Retrieval mission for two weeks then we'll see how cocky you are dog breath."

The assembled genin shivered at the thought of chasing Tora the Demon Cat around the village for two whole weeks without end. Kiba growled.

"Do you still wish to spar Kiba? Because if you ask nicely, I'd be happy too," Naruto said.

"Fine," Kiba grunted. "Let's spar, I want to see how far I've come." Naruto nodded.

"Right then, Kakashi-sensei, do you mind refereeing this match?" he asked.

Kakashi nodded himself and everyone else stepped back to allow Kiba and Naruto room to fight. "Now this is just a friendly spar, no serious blows aimed to injure or cripple your opponent. The spar is over when one is knocked unconscious, admits defeat or my call. If you do not heed my call, I will stop this fight myself and the perpetrator will not like the result. Do you understand?"

"Hai!" the two boys snapped off.

"Good then begin!"

Kiba surged forward at impressive speed for a genin, though to Naruto he was moving at a normal pace. '_Looks like Kiba has put those weight seals to good use after all,_' Naruto thought as he ducked under a clawed strike from a transformed Kiba. Naruto landed a solid punch to a transformed Akamaru's chest causing the puppy to be thrown back and then revert to his original form.

"Akamaru!" Kiba cried as he turned toward his partner.

"Don't take your eyes off your opponent," Naruto said as he appeared behind Kiba with a kunai at the feral genin's throat. "Even if your partner is hurt, the best way to protect them is to keep fighting and to quickly defeat your opponent."

"You're right," Kiba said before he leaned forward and impaled his throat onto Naruto's kunai. But instead of blood, Kiba exploded into smoke.

"_**Kage Bunshin**_," Naruto muttered as he extended his senses. Naruto leapt upward as Kiba came flying out of the ground. "Looks like you've been listening to Kakashi-sensei. That's one of his favorite sneak attack jutsus, _**Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu!**_ But you weren't quick enough and I've seen that jutsu enough times to know when it is coming."

"Now Akamaru!" Kiba cried. Naruto spun around in time to see a fast moving fireball speeding toward him. Naruto grinned as he palmed a tri-pronged kunai and tossed it into the air. A spilt second later in a flash of yellow, Naruto appeared above the fireball.

"Not bad Kiba, Akamaru," Naruto said. "You nearly had me but you're going to have to do better than that. _**Suiton: Teppoudama!**_" Naruto shot a ball of water toward Kiba and Akamaru, who dodged by leaping sideways. "_**Kage Bunshin!**_" Three Naruto clones appeared and together with the original, they quartet charged Kiba and Akamaru.

"_**Katon: Endan!**_" Kiba cried, spitting several fireballs from his mouth. Naruto and his clone weaved their way through the fireballs. Akamaru was struggling to evade the two clones of Naruto who were just fooling with the puppy. And Kiba knew this. He knew he had to somehow beat Naruto quickly, or they would overwhelm Akamaru and that would be it.

"_**Shikyaku no Jutsu!**_" Kiba barked as chakra engulfed him. Naruto grinned as he lowered himself into his own taijutsu stance. "_**Katon: Okibi Senpuu! Gatsūga!**_" Flames surrounded Kiba as he performed his family's signature jutsu.

'_Interesting,_' Naruto thought as he ducked under the flaming _**Gatsūga**_. '_He was able to combine his __**Katon**_ _element with his family's jutsu, he's come a long way._'

"Well done Kiba but you're still miles away from beating me," Naruto said. "You tried to score the quick victory in exchange for your ability to keep fighting." Naruto whirled around and struck the wincing Kiba with the grip of his kunai, knocking the feral ninja out cold.

"Winner Naruto," Kakashi announced. "Medic!"

"Don't worry about him," Naruto said as he looked over Kiba. "He's just got some burns. He's lucky that he only used that combination jutsu quickly. Kiba doesn't have enough control over his _**Katon**_ element to use that jutsu effectively, that's why I said he tried to score the quick victory in exchange for the ability to keep fighting."

Sakura was running her hands over Kiba's wincing body, her hand glowing green. "He's get some first and second degree burns over most of his body. He'll need some treatment but Kiba should be fine in a couple of days."

"I'll take him to the hospital," Kurenai said.

"Now then, I believe it is time that we continue working on your elemental affinities," Naruto said. "Those with water will come with me. Hinata, you and Sakura are with Kakashi-sensei while the rest of you are with Shikamaru."

Ino and Tenten followed Naruto away from the group and over to the small lake that was situated in the training ground.

"Now then, how far have each of you come in your first step of your _**Suiton**_ chakra training?" Naruto asked.

"I've managed to dry about half the towel in one go," Ino said smugly.

"Pretty much the same for me," Tenten said. Naruto could tell that Tenten was slightly annoyed that she was a _**Suiton**_ elemental, since she was more geared toward being a support ninja and weapons master. _**Suiton**_ was one of the more defensive elements, only _**Doton**_ being more so.

"All right well keep working on drying that towel," Naruto said. "Once you do, I'll give you a scroll with some basic _**Suiton**_ jutsus that you can easily learn. They might be basic, but if you don't master the basics, you can't hope to master more advanced jutsus."

The two girls nodded and trudged their way over to the lake.

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"What's wrong baa-chan?" Naruto asked as he and Shikamaru were called into the Hokage's office a week later. It was now a month after Tsunade had 'taken' over as Hokage and the N&S Boot Camp from Hell TM had begun.

"Don't call me that gaki!" Tsunade shouted as she threw a stapler at Naruto, who easily ducked under it and turned to whistle at the hole it created in the wall(s). "Anyway, Jiraiya has finally returned and he has some information about Kiri and the rebellion. Get in here you pervert!"

Jiraiya appeared in the window. "Come on hime, don't call me that in front of the gaki," he whined.

"Yeah, yeah we know its not pervert," Naruto began.

"It's super pervert," Shikamaru finished. Jiraiya's head dropped to his chest at the antics of Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Get on with it Jiraiya or I'll be sending you through that wall," Tsunade growled.

"Right then hime," Jiraiya said. "I found out that the Bloodline rebels are getting close to launching a major offensive against Yagura. I managed to speak with the leader of the rebels, Temurī Mei, and she would be happy to open up talks with Konoha if they win the rebellion. But that's a big if."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

"They need manpower," Jiraiya said. "And training. The rebels match up with the Kiri forces nearly man to man but they are woefully undertrained. Most of their soldiers are genin or chunin at best."

"They'll be slaughtered," Naruto said.

"That's not the worst part," Jiraiya said. "I also found out that Orochimaru has sent envoys to Kiri to try and ally with Kiri. I think he aims to make a deal with Yagura about taking away the kekkei genkai users. If Orochimaru gets his hands on them, he could turn them into monsters and then let them loose on Kiri for revenge."

"Most likely," Naruto said. "Orochimaru covets kekkei genkais like Kakashi-sensei covets Icha Icha. If the snake gets his hands on some of Kiri's kekkei genkai, he could become unstoppable."

"This is what we're going to do," Tsunade said. "I want you two to set up a team that you will lead to intercept and eliminate the Oto envoys. While there, I want you to also try and contact with the rebels and see if you can get more information from this Temurī Mei and the possibility of creating a shadow alliance with the rebels. I would also suggest you speak to her about the possibility that Yagura is under someone's control."

"Understood," Naruto said. "Who's on our team?"

"You pick," Tsunade said. Naruto turned to Shikamaru who nodded.

"Kakashi, Anko and a medical nin," Naruto said. "Kakashi and Anko have the experience as well as the abilities to complete the mission but I have no idea who to get as medical support. Do you have any suggestions?"

"My best student at the moment is Haruno Sakura," Tsunade said. "She's nearly a prodigy in the medical arts. I haven't seen chakra control like hers in years, it might be even better than mine was at her age."

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked. "I know Sakura-chan has come a long way since being a Sasuke fan girl but is she truly ready for a mission like this?"

"We don't know," Tsunade said heavily. "But she is the best option we have at the moment, none of the other medical ninja trainees are strong enough as a ninja for this mission, and she has been working with you all this past month. She's the best choice."

"When do we leave?" Naruto asked.

**A/N: Well, look at that I got another chapter out in less than a week. Kudos for me. This one isn't as long as the previous chapter, but that chapter at 10,000 words is more of an outlier than the norm. This length of 7,000+ words will be the norm. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, I don't think it's as good as the previous chapter though this one is more of a filler chapter. Please check out my poll on who Naruto should be paired up with, one Konoha shinobi is dominating right now, so keep voting. I still haven't decided on who Naruto will be paired with if he is at all. Please read and review this chapter with any suggestions or ideas to make this better. But enjoy anyway.**

**A/N pt. 2: Here are the element affinities that the Rookie teams and Team Gai have. Rock Lee doesn't have an affinity due to his condition. **

**Tenten, Ino: _Suiton_**

**Hinata, Sakura: _Raiton_**

**Kiba: _Katon_**

**Neji, Choji and Shino: _Doton_**

**S.R.W.M.O.**


	4. Battle in the Mist

**Disclaimer: The _Naruto_ universe isn't mine, I'm just playing it the sandbox that is _Naruto_, hoping to close up some plot holes that I think are in _Naruto_, though I hope that my writing doesn't open up more plot holes. Enjoy.**

Kakashi walked toward the Hokage's office wondering why he had been called away from his training session with Sakura. He had been mightily impressed by the young kunoichi and had been disgusted with himself that he had just focused on the Uchiha. True, he had been 'ordered' by the Council to train Sasuke but he had let it go to a whole different level. He had just deserted his other students, only teaching them tree walking mainly because he had to teach Sasuke the exercise.

Sakura had blown Kakashi's expectations out of the water. She had thrown herself totally into becoming stronger and holding her own as a ninja of Konoha. Her perfect chakra control made it easy for Sakura to pick up the nuances of genjutsu, as well as medical ninjutsu. It was an immense surprise to find out that Sakura had a _**Raiton**_ affinity like he did. It was rumored that Tsunade-sama had a _**Raiton**_ affinity but Kakashi had expected Sakura to have either a _**Doton**_ or _**Suiton**_ affinity, heck even _**Katon**_ due to her combustible temper.

"Jonin Hatake reporting as ordered," Kakashi said as he entered the Hokage's office. To his surprise it wasn't just Tsunade and Shizune, but Naruto, Nara Shikamaru and Mitarashi Anko were waiting in the office.

"Nice of you to join us Kakashi," Tsunade said. "And on time for once."

"If you know how to motivate Kakashi-sensei, he'll always be on time," Naruto chuckled pulling several orange books from behind his back. Kakashi growled at Naruto as he realized that it was Naruto who had left the note in his bedside drawer where he had stashed his Icha Icha books.

"I'll take that into consideration," Tsunade said. "Now onto why I have called you and Anko here today, Kakashi. You two will be accompanying Naruto and Shikamaru and possibly Sakura on an A-rank with the provision of being upgraded to an S-rank mission to Kiri."

"WHAT!" Kakashi and Anko cried.

"Hokage-sama, you can't be serious!" Kakashi shouted. "I know that Naruto and Shikamaru are chunin but to send them and a genin on a high A-rank mission that could become an S-rank is suicide even for a team of jonin or ANBU!"

"What about for a former Hokage and Jonin Hanchō?" Naruto asked. Kakashi and Anko turned to the pair of chunin.

"What are you talking about gaki?" Anko asked.

"I think its time that Kakashi-sensei heard this, and since Anko is here she might as well know the whole story," Naruto said.

"What's going on here?" Anko barked.

"Silence!" Tsunade growled. "Kakashi, Anko what Naruto and Shikamaru are about to tell you is totally and 100% true, so you will do well to remember to hold your tongues until they have finished."

Kakashi and Anko nodded before turning to the pair of chunin in the office.

"Shikamaru and I aren't who we appear to be," Naruto began. "We are actually from eight years from the future. I was the Rokudaime Hokage, and Shikamaru was my Jonin Hanchō. I used a _**fuinjutsu**_ seal that allowed myself, Shikamaru and Kurama to be transported back to just after the Second Exam of the Chunin Exams. The chakra toll for this jutsu was immense and it nearly drained all of Kurama's chakra. He's still recovering from it, though he's nearly back at full strength."

"Who is Kurama?" Anko asked, forgetting about Tsunade's rule about waiting until the end for questions.

"Kurama is the furball stuck in my gut," Naruto said.

"WHAT!" Kakashi and Anko cried.

"Naruto you can't be serious!" Kakashi cried. "The Kyubi is evil! It will do anything to escape!"

"Kakashi, I believe that Tsunade-sama told you to hold your tongue until we were done," Naruto snapped, his tone dropping into his 'Kage' tone. "Don't speak of things you can't possibly understand. Kurama is not evil; he was forced into attacking the village the night that my parents were killed. Controlled by one who will doom our way of life if he isn't stopped."

"Who?" Anko asked.

"Uchiha Madara," Shikamaru said. Raising his hand to stall the coming exclamations of 'impossible' from Kakashi and Anko, he continued, "It's true. Madara somehow survived all these years and has been regaining his strength over the years."

Naruto and Shikamaru went on to tell Kakashi and Anko what had happened in the previous timeline. How everything had changed during the Finals of the Chunin Exams, how the Sandaime had sacrificed his life to seal the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages after Orochimaru had summoned them. How Sasuke defected to Orochimaru roughly six months after the invasion, then how Naruto went on a training trip with Jiraiya for three years in hopes of becoming strong enough to 'rescue' Sasuke. They spoke of the Akatsuki and their plans for world domination by gathering all the _**Biju**_ and then using them as playthings to destroy the Elemental Countries and the Shinobi Alliance that the Five Great Nations had created to combat Akatsuki.

Naruto's voice fell as he spoke of the _**Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen**_, how he became the Rokudaime Hokage after Tsunade had been killed. How the war had continued for nearly five years before the Shinobi Alliance had finally been victorious but it was a hollow victory as nearly everyone in the world had been killed. Madara's favorite tactic was to have his _**Sharingan**_-controlled _**Bijū**_ bombard the villages with _**Bijūdama**_ from a distance and decimate the villages. None of the major villages survived for long, though Konoha was the last to fall as Naruto watched as his village was destroyed without him being able to doing anything to stop it.

Kakashi watched as his student crumpled in on himself as Naruto spoke of his failures as Hokage, his failure to protect his precious people and his village.

"Naruto-sama, this wasn't your fault," Shikamaru said. "Madara was just too strong, he had had too much time to build up his strength and his forces. That's why we came back in time, to have a chance to save everyone. This time Madara won't win."

"I know," Naruto said, his voice croaking slightly. "It's just hard seeing everyone."

"Tsunade-sama, are you sure this is all accurate? I mean, it just seems all so farfetched," Anko said.

"It is true Anko-chan," an older voice said from the window behind Tsunade. It was Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Sandaime-sama!" Kakashi and Anko yelped.

"Please Kakashi-kun, Anko-chan," Hiruzen said. "Naruto-kun is telling the truth, he and Shikamaru-kun were the ones who told me about Orochimaru's invasion plans as well as allowing me to survive the battle by using Naruto-kun's seals to block Orochimaru's summoning my predecessors as well as his seal that contained a sample of Kurama's unfiltered chakra which is poisonous to non-jinchuriki. Orochimaru was dealt a very serious blow because of that. I trust that Naruto-kun and Shikamaru-kun know what's best."

"Say we do believe this story," Anko began. "That doesn't mean the two gakis should be sent on this high-ranking mission, they're only chunin!"

"Mitarashi-san," Naruto snapped. "I don't believe you heard but Shikamaru and I are much stronger than you think. Shikamaru was ANBU-level when we traveled back in time and I was the Rokudaime, so that should tell you what our strength is?"

Anko shivered at the icy look that the blonde shrimp was giving her. Naruto's blue eyes seemed to slice right through her and were judging her entire soul and being.

"If you don't think you can take orders from Shikamaru or me, then you won't be coming on this mission," Naruto said. "And we have a chance to really hurt Orochimaru on this mission."

Anko perked up at the name of her former sensei. "Look gaki, if the Hokage-sama and Sandaime-sama believe you, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

"What is the mission?" Kakashi asked.

"Jiraiya has received information that Orochimaru will be sending an envoy to Kirigakure no Sato to meet with the Mizukage," Tsunade said. "As you know, Mizu no Kuni has been stuck in the midst of a civil war between the Mizukage and the Bloodline Rebels. Jiraiya, sensei and I believe that Orochimaru is going to ally with the Mizukage in hopes of gaining some of the bloodlines that Kiri possesses. Your mission would be to intercept the Oto envoys and eliminate them, the second half of your mission is to meet with the leaders of the bloodline rebels and open up conversation with them. Tell them that Konoha is watching closely to the situation and is willing to ally with them but also tell the leaders that we believe that Yagura is being controlled by someone and that he is not in complete control of his actions."

"Hai Hokage-sama," Naruto, Shikamaru, Kakashi and Anko barked.

Naruto turned to his team. "I'm going to see if I can recruit our last team member," he said. "Meet me at the front gates at 23:00 tonight, we need to make sure we reach Kiri as soon as possible to make sure that we either beat the Oto ninja to Kiri."

"Hai Naruto-sama," Shikamaru said while Kakashi and Anko just nodded.

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"Excuse me Haruno-san, but is Sakura-chan here?" Naruto asked as Sakura's mother opened the door to the house.

"No!" Mrs. Haruno snapped. "She isn't! Now leave and never darken my doorstep again you _demon_."

"You do know I can legally kill you Mrs. Haruno," Naruto said coldly. The pink-haired woman froze at the sound of Naruto's voice. "But that would just prove to you and those who hate me for what I carry that I am not human. Sakura told me that you don't approve of her being a ninja because her father, your husband, who was killed during the Kyubi attack. You don't want to lose anyone precious to you again, that's why you only wanted her to become a ninja in order to attract the attention of the Uchiha. I can understand that, however you are doing a disservice to both your daughter and your late husband. Your daughter wants to honor her father by becoming a great ninja, your husband is a hero and I'm sure he would be proud of her."

"What do you know _boy_?" she sneered.

"I don't," Naruto said easily. "But let me remind you that both of my parents were killed during the attack, I never met either of them. Your daughter has one parent, don't push her away and lose her. Now if Sakura-chan isn't here, I'm sorry for taking up part of your evening. Good night." Naruto bowed to the elder Haruno.

"Wait Naruto!" Sakura's voice called out from behind her mother. "Kaa-san, why didn't you tell me that Naruto was here?"

"What business do you have with my daughter _Uzumaki-san_?" Sakura's mother asked sharply.

"She has been recommended for a mission that I wish to speak to her about," Naruto said.

"Give me a minute Naruto and I'll be right out," Sakura said. Naruto nodded. Sakura's mother glared at Naruto before turning back into the house.

"Sorry about my kaa-san," Sakura said when she appeared in the doorway.

"It's ok Sakura-chan," Naruto said.

"So what was the mission that you were talking about? Tsunade-shishou hasn't said anything to me," she said.

"Sakura-chan this mission is nothing like we've done before," Naruto said. "It's an A-rank mission with the possibility of being pushed up to an S-rank mission."

"What?" Sakura gasped.

"Oto is sending envoys to Kiri in an attempt to gain an ally," Naruto said. "Also we think that Orochimaru is trying to find some more people to experiment on. Shikamaru, Kakashi-sensei, Anko-san and I are being sent into Kiri to intercept and eliminate them."

"Kakashi-sensei I can understand as well as Anko, they're both jonin and Kakashi-sensei was an ANBU," Sakura said. "But you and Shikamaru are just chunin, and brand new chunin at that. What is Tsunade-sama thinking sending you two on such a dangerous mission?"

"Look Sakura-chan there's not much I can tell you right now," Naruto said. "Tsunade-baa-chan recommended you as our team's medical support for the mission, and that's why I'm here."

"You want me to come on such a high profile mission, I'm just a genin," Sakura said.

"I know Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "I came here tonight to give you the choice. You've made amazing progress in everything. I'm sure that when the next Chunin Exams roll around, you'll be promoted easily but I'm not sure if you are ready for this type of mission."

Sakura nodded. "But you still haven't answered my question Naruto," she said. "You and Shikamaru are just Chunin, why are you being sent on such a dangerous mission?"

"Because it needs to be done," Naruto said. "I promise you I will tell you when we return but for now you have to realize that everyone has secrets, especially me. I can't tell you right now but I will when we get back."

"How long will you be gone?" Sakura asked.

"Most likely minimum of three weeks," Naruto said. "It will take at least three days to reach Kiri, then we have to meet with Ero-Sennin's contacts there and find a place to wait for the Oto envoys."

"I see," Sakura said. "Look Naruto, I'm honored that Tsunade-sama would think of me to be your team's medical support but I'm nowhere near ready for a mission this important. I'm sorry but I can't come with you."

"I understand Sakura-chan," Naruto said with a grin. "That's a very mature decision, honestly I don't know if I'm ready for this type of mission but it needs to be done and as a future Hokage, I can't let anyone else take a risk that I am unwilling to take."

"Good luck Naruto," Sakura said. "And I will hold you to that promise about telling me everything when you return."

"Of course Sakura-chan, I never go back on my word," Naruto laughed. "Good night Sakura-chan."

"Good night Naruto," Sakura said before her blonde teammate leapt off into the night. She turned back to her house and went inside to where her mother was waiting with dinner and most likely a scolding for talking with Naruto.

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"She's not coming," Naruto said as he appeared at the gate where Kakashi, Anko and Shikamaru were waiting.

"I didn't think she would," Shikamaru said. "Sakura isn't ready for this type of mission."

"That's what she said," Naruto said.

"Wait, you wanted Sakura to come along!" Kakashi cried. "Are you trying to get her killed?"

"That wasn't my intention no," Naruto snapped. "When I set up the team, I asked Tsunade-sama who she would recommend as our medical ninja, and she choose Sakura-chan. I was just as surprised as you are Kakashi-sensei, and that's why I wanted to speak with Sakura-chan myself and ask her if she wanted in. I told her the risks, and she told me she wasn't ready for this level of mission and let's leave it at that."

"I can't believe Hokage-sama would think of sending just a genin out with us," Anko said. "She doesn't know about you and pineapple head over there, does she?"

"No," Naruto said. "Though I did promise her that I would tell her when we got back and I'm going to keep that promise."

"Are you sure that's a wise idea Naruto-sama?" Shikamaru asked. "I mean…"

"Enough Shikamaru, we have a mission to complete and time is of the essence," Naruto said. "Let's move. I want us in Nami by morning."

"Hai," Kakashi, Anko and Shikamaru said. The four ninja disappeared into the forest surrounding the village without another sound.

They had been running silent for nearly five hours and were quickly approaching the border between Hi no Kuni and Nami no Kuni.

"Naruto."

"Yes Kakashi," the blonde time traveler said without looking over his shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell me about all this before?" the silver haired jonin asked. "I am…was your jonin sensei."

Kakashi heard Naruto sigh. "Look Kakashi, the reason I didn't tell you was that one, I didn't see you until the invasion. Also, we knew that the more people knew about us, the more chances that Akatsuki would find out and change their plans. It's not that we didn't trust you Kakashi but this information couldn't fall into the wrong hands. There's a reason it's considered an SSS-rank state secret."

Kakashi fell silent as he realized that Naruto was correct. While the blonde and Shikamaru might have future knowledge, that knowledge is only helpful if it isn't leaked to the enemy as well as the timeline doesn't change too much.

The team managed to make it to Nami in short order and was able to slip aboard a ship that was heading for Kirigakure no Sato. Naruto used his special _**Henge**_ to transform into a non-descript looking brown haired, green-eyed teenager. Shikamaru, Kakashi and Anko each dawned their own disguises. The team slipped into the crowds as the ship docked at the village's port and quickly found a hotel where they set up their base of operations.

"Naruto-sama, who is this contact of Jiraiya-sama's that we are supposed to meet with?" Shikamaru asked.

"He is supposed to meet with us here," Naruto said. "Don't worry, I'll recognize him when I see him."

Suddenly there came a knock on the door that sent the team scrambling for their weapons.

"Who's there?" Naruto asked through the door.

"Someone who is searching for the true answer."

"That's him," Naruto said. Shikamaru crossed the room and slowly opened it. A large man with long black hair and brown eyes met him; Shikamaru was stunned to see that this man was extremely attractive.

"Shikamaru, where are you manners? Step aside and let our guest in," Naruto said. Shikamaru moved aside and the man entered the room. "Kawabata Masanori."

"Who are you?" the tall man asked sharply.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto and this is my team," Naruto said. "This is Nara Shikamaru, Mitarashi Anko and Hatake Kakashi."

"You bring such well-known ninja with you Naruto-san," Masanori said. "But while you say this is your team, you are but a child."

"I might be only fourteen but I am no child Masanori," Naruto said sharply. "We wish to speak with your leaders about the possibility of aiding them as well as making sure our enemies don't grow in strength."

"I will pass on your request," Masanori said. "If you are here, then you probably know of the rumors that Otogakure no Sato will be sending envoys to meet with the Mizukage?"

"We do."

"Well, the envoys shall be here within the week," Masanori said.

"Do you have any information on who they will be? I can't expect Orochimaru to send just about anybody," Naruto said.

"We have only heard that Orochimaru's right hand man shall be coming to personally address the Mizukage."

Suddenly the room was flooded with KI, the sources: Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Kabuto," the pair growled. Images of the gray-haired spy and medic nin standing over the bodies of dozens of Shinobi Alliance members including several members of the Rookie 9 from Konoha and a fan-wielding blonde from Suna stood out chief among Kabuto's victims. Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged a look that sent shivers down even Anko's spine. '_That bastard dies this time_,' both Naruto and Shikamaru thought.

"Naruto, Shikamaru, care to explain?" Kakashi asked. "Also, you might want to reign in your chakra, we don't want anyone snooping around more so than they most likely already are."

It took a moment but the monstrous levels of KI emanating from Naruto and Shikamaru vanished.

"My apologies for losing control of myself," Naruto said. "But Shikamaru and I have a score to settle with that _teme_," Naruto snarled. He could feel Kurama stir in his head at the thought of finally dealing with Kabuto. '_Don't worry Kurama, we will end that snake-loving bastard,_' Naruto thought. He heard the massive fox in his gut grunt his approval.

"You have some history with this person Naruto, Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked.

"Hai, we know who Masanori is talking about," Naruto said. "Yakushi Kabuto, you know him as well Kakashi-sensei. He was the 'genin' who dropped out of the Chunin Exams after the Forest of Death. The bastard will become a major pain in everyone's side in the future. We need to eliminate him if we get the chance."

"You say you are here to assist us in our battle against Yagura," Masanori said.

"Possibly," Naruto said. "We are in a very difficult position at the moment. We can't afford to be seen assisting the rebels because that would be seen as an act of war against Kiri. But we also can't stand by and allow the Mizukage to continue this reign of terror, and that is why we need to speak with your leaders."

Masanori nodded. "I shall return with my superior's orders," he said. Naruto nodded.

"That's fine," Naruto said. "We eagerly await your return."

Masanori bowed to Naruto and the others before leaving hotel room.

"Naruto, if this Kabuto is truly Orochimaru's right hand man, he must be stronger than anyone expects him to be," Kakashi said. "Are you sure…" Kakashi trailed off as Naruto and Shikamaru pinned the older ninja with a furious glare.

"That snake will be skinned," Naruto growled. "He has too much to answer for and we will not allow him to escape again."

"He is mine Naruto-sama," Shikamaru growled. "I need to do this."

"All right Shikamaru," Naruto said. "But if I see you struggling, I'm stepping in. We can't afford to let Kabuto slip away." Shikamaru nodded. Neither Kakashi nor Anko knew what was going on but they could tell that this Kabuto was in for a world of hurt.

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The next morning Masanori returned to the hotel with the message that the Bloodline rebels leader would like to meet with the Konoha team about the possibility of creating an alliance between the two.

"So then these are the ninja that Konoha has sent to aid us, a women, two children and _**Sharingan no Kakashi**_?" a tall man with dark eyes grumbled as Masanori led the Konoha group into the rebel camp.

"I'm sorry did you say something?" Naruto asked, wiggling his pinky finger in his ear. The man sputtered wildly as the Konoha group walked by.

"Mei-sama," Masanori called out as he and the others approached a small building that seemed to be the epicenter of the camp. "I have brought the ninja from Konoha."

"Send them in," a female voice answered from inside the building. Masanori stepped aside and let Naruto, Shikamaru, Kakashi and Anko walk inside.

"Welcome to our humble abode," the woman now known as Mei said. "Please sit down, I'm sure we have much to discuss." Naruto and Shikamaru nodded and took the offered seats without a word. Both Kakashi and Anko were stunned at the sight before them. The leader of the Bloodline Rebels was a woman, an extremely attractive woman.

"So then Konoha has sent the legendary _**Sharingan no Kakashi**_ and Mitarashi Anko, the second in command of Konoha's T&I department, to negotiate with us," Mei said.

"Actually Mei-sama," Naruto spoke up. "Shikamaru and I are the leaders of this team, Kakashi-sensei and Anko-san are here for their expertise in this type of mission."

Mei blinked as she looked down at blonde boy sitting before her. "And who are you?" she asked sweetly, though Naruto could detect the undercurrent of frustration and surprise in Mei's voice.

"Uzumaki Naruto, and this is Nara Shikamaru," Naruto said. "Hokage-sama has given us the option of speaking with you about the possibility of becoming allies against the Mizukage."

"So the Hokage thinks so low of us to send children to pander to our hopes," Mei growled.

"Don't mistake my age for naiveté Mei-sama," Naruto snapped, his blue eyes slowly turning cobalt as they bore into Mei's green eyes. "I might only be fourteen but we all know that age doesn't mean much in the shinobi world. I met a young man from Kiri a short time ago that was a year younger than me yet I considered him the strongest person I knew."

"Please child," Mei said. "Be quiet and let me speak with the true leaders of this delegation, I would hate to have to melt such a cute chibi like yourself."

"Is that a threat Mei-san?" Naruto asked softly.

"Excuse me?" Mei said, blinking.

"Mei-san, please don't think of me a fool," Naruto said. "It makes you look a fool yourself. Senju Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, has put me in charge of this mission. Our mission is to eliminate the envoys that Orochimaru will be sending to meet with the Mizukage; we are here before you in hopes of setting up the beginning of a relationship between my village and your faction."

"You forget who you are speaking too _boy_," Mei spat getting to her feet. "I am Temurī Mei, leader of…"

"Of what?" Naruto snapped. "A bunch of rabble with special gifts. You have very little in the way of trained ninja who would be able to stand against the Mizukage's forces."

Kakashi and Anko looked at Naruto like he was insane. They had come to hopefully ally with the Bloodline Rebels not turn them into enemies.

"You wish to return Kiri to its former greatness," Naruto said. "You want to end the persecution of those with kekkei genkai here in Kiri but what about afterwards? What will you do if you do wrest control away from the Mizukage? Will you turn around and become that which you fight? There will always be some animosity between those who don't have kekkei genkai and those who do; it's simple jealousy. From what I've seen, those with kekkei genkai seem to use their abilities as a crutch if you rely on cheap parlor tricks to get ahead you will never be truly strong. Now that's not to say that you are not strong Mei-san but just because you have a special gift doesn't mean you forget the skills that got you this far. A master with a rock can still defeat a novice with a kunai."

"Wise words for one so young," Mei said. "How about we put your words to the test? A spar. Let us see how you hold up against someone with two special gifts."

"What happens when I win?" Naruto said easily.

"If you win, don't you mean?" Mei giggled. "Let's see, if you win, we will sit down and discuss an alliance between my forces and Konoha but if you lose, you will admit in front of all my men that you are nothing more than a child trying to act like someone important."

"Deal," Naruto said. "When shall we have this spar?"

"How about right now? Our training grounds are nearby," Mei suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Naruto said.

"Follow me then."

The group followed Mei and her bodyguards from the building, around the back to find a large clearing. It looked very much like one of the training grounds in Konoha.

"Not a bad set up you have here Mei-sama," Naruto said, taking a look around. He noticed that they weren't alone anymore. It seemed that word had spread of the spar and most of the rebels had decided to come watch. "Looks like we're to have an audience."

"Indeed it does," Mei grinned. "Hope that that doesn't put you off."

"Of course not," Naruto said. "Like they say, twice the pride, double the fall." The pair walked to the center of the training ground and fell into their stances. "Ready when you are Mei-sama," Naruto said, silently releasing his gravity seals. From what he remembered about Mei from the 'future', it wasn't a fluke that she was the second woman to be given the title of Kage. She made use of both of her kekkei genkai, the _**Yōton**_ and _**Futton**_ releases, as well as her other skills. Naruto knew that to win, he was going to have to pull off all the stops.

"_**Suiton: Suiryūdan!**_" Mei shouted and a massive water dragon rose from the lake nearby and charged toward Naruto.

"_**Futon: Atsugai!**_" Naruto shouted. The water dragon exploded into rain droplets after impacting Naruto's _**Futon**_ jutsu.

"Impressive but you have now given me the advantage," Mei giggled. "Let me show you the jutsu that made Kirigakure so feared in the past. _**Kirigakure no Jutsu!**_" The water droplets from the _**Suiryūdan**_ quickly broke down and covered the training ground in a heavy mist. Naruto chuckled at the sight of this very familiar jutsu.

"You're going to have to do better than that Mei-san," Naruto called out. "My first ever mission outside Konoha, my team and I ran into Momochi Zabuza, probably one of the most infamous users of this jutsu and you are not nearly skilled enough in its use as he was. But I'm sure you already know this and are just using this jutsu as a cover for some other technique; so let's open some eyes shall we? _**Futon: Kamikaze Happa!**_" (Wind Release: Divine Wind Blast). A massive wind gust tore through the training ground, kicking up dust and wiping away the _**Kirigakure no Jutsu**_. Naruto leapt backward in time to avoid a ball of molten lava.

"So resorting to your kekkei genkai already?" Naruto chided as Mei dabbed at her lips with a napkin. "You must think highly of me to be using your _**Yōton**_ release already."

"Not quite," Mei giggled. "Though for one so young to have such control over several high powered _**Futon**_ jutsus is impressive. But I'm just getting started."

"So am I," Naruto laughed. "_**Suiton: Teppoudama!**_" A ball of water spat from Naruto's mouth and sped across the training ground. Mei responded with her own _**Suiton: Teppoudama**_.

"You can use _**Suiton**_ as well, aren't you just full of surprises Uzumaki Naruto," Mei commented as she weaved several hand signs. "_**Yōton: Yougandama!**_" (Lava Release: Lava Bullet). The _**Yougandama**_ streaked across the training ground toward Naruto, who grinned and pulled a kunai from his pouch. "Your little kunai won't be able to stand up to my jutsu, so I don't…" Mei trailed off as Naruto threw the kunai aside and suddenly appeared beside it in the blink of an eye. "_**Hiraishin!**_" she gasped.

"Not quite," Naruto chuckled. "Pretty close though. Looks like I'm going to have to stop holding back."

"Holding back!" Mei cried.

Naruto disappeared suddenly in a shimmer and before Mei realized, he was in front of her and had planted a fist in her stomach. Mei choked as she bent over, clutching her stomach.

"Another thing I've noticed about those who rely solely on their kekkei genkai for power, when faced with someone who is more rounded than they are, they tend to fail," Naruto said. "Having a kekkei genkai is meant to enhance your abilities not become them solely."

"_**Yōton: Yougannami!**_" (Lava Release: Lave Wave) Mei cried, a large amount of molten rock spilled from her mouth and began spreading across the training ground. Naruto arched an eyebrow before flashing through his own hand signs.

"_**Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!**_" he shouted. (Water Release: Exploding Water Shock Wave). A wave of water shot from the lake behind Naruto and clashed against the _**Yougannami**_ that Mei had created. There was a great hissing sound as the water quickly evaporated from the heat, however the _**Suiton**_ jutsu did its job by cooling off the lava enough for it to harden into rock.

"Impressive," Mei commented.

"You haven't seen nothing yet," Naruto said. "_**Raiton: Hiraishin no Jutsu!**_" he cried. (Lightning Release: Lightning Rod). All around the training ground, the spectators' hearts skipped a beat at the sound of Naruto's jutsu. However, it wasn't the Yondaime's legendary jutsu. Lightning surrounded Naruto for a second before he pointed his finger at Mei and a stream of lightning shot across the training ground toward her.

"Kuso!" Mei cursed as she leapt sideways to avoid the jutsu. '_Three elemental affinities at such a young age, I have truly underestimated you Uzumaki Naruto,_' Mei thought.

Naruto cancelled his jutsu and made his signature hand sign. "_**Taju Kage Bunshin!**_" he shouted. Suddenly the training ground was filled with dozens of clones. The non-Konoha members of the spectators were stunned to see the amount of clones produced. "_**Kage Shuriken Bunshin!**_" Naruto cried. Each clone flung a shuriken toward Mei, and those shuriken multiplied into five causing the cloud of shuriken to nearly block out the sun.

Mei quickly sped through hand signs and called out, "_**Suiton: Suijinheki!**_" A wall of water shot up from the ground and blocked the shuriken.

"It's over," Naruto whispered before vanishing from sight.

As the _**Suiton**_ jutsu collapsed, Mei looked around wildly for Naruto. "Looking for me," she heard a cold voice whisper behind her. She froze at the cold touch of metal against her neck.

"How?" she asked.

"Simple, you underestimated me more than you believed you already had," Naruto said. "You should never take your eyes off your opponent, that was one of the first lessons I learned after becoming a ninja. Do you yield?"

"Hai," Mei murmured. Naruto nodded and took the kunai away from her neck. Turning around, Mei was stunned to recognize the kunai in Naruto's hand. "That's a…"

"Yep," Naruto said putting the tri-pronged kunai back in his pouch. "It's one of the legendary _**Hiraishin**_ kunai that my tou-san used."

"Tou-san! You mean…"

"Let me reintroduce myself, I am Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, son of the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, and future Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha," Naruto said with a broad grin. "Now I believe we had an agreement?"

Mei nodded. "Of course, but I think our talk should wait until tomorrow," she said. "You have given me much to think about. You and your team may spend the night here if you wish."

"Thank you for your generosity Mei-sama," Naruto said with a bow before making his way back to his team. Mei watched him go and gently rubbed her neck where Naruto had put the kunai. '_Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto eh, you will be a very interesting ninja one day,_' she thought. '_And cute too._'

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The next morning found the Konoha team seated across from Mei and her advisors in the same building that they had first met the previous day.

"So then, why would the Hokage send such a small force to help us?" Mei asked.

"In truth, our main mission is to eliminate the Oto envoys," Naruto said. "Not to help you overthrow the Mizukage."

"You mean Yagura," Mei said. "I noticed that you haven't called the Mizukage by his name this whole time."

"That's because we have reason to believe that Yagura isn't truly the Mizukage," Shikamaru said. "He is being controlled by a genjutsu. That is why he has been acting so tyrannical."

"What!" Mei and her advisors cried. "That's impossible."

"You know that Yagura is a jinchuriki correct?" Naruto asked. Mei and the others nodded. "We believe that Yagura is being controlled by Uchiha Madara."

"He's dead!" Mei shouted. "He died fighting the Shodaime Hokage nearly a century ago."

"Unfortunately that's incorrect," Shikamaru said. "Madara somehow survived and has spent the years regaining his strength as well as setting up several conflicts throughout history to weaken the Elemental Countries, including this current conflict. He is the leader of an organization called Akatsuki, which hopes to capture all the _**Biju**_ and then use them to control the world. A former member of the Seven Swordsmen is a member."

"Who?" a tall black haired man wearing wraps around his mouth barked.

"Hoshigaki Kisame," Naruto said. "Who are you?"

"Momochi Zangetsu," the man said. "Zabuza was my older brother."

"I see," Naruto said. "But yes, Kisame is part of Akatsuki."

"How do you know this?" Mei asked.

"Because he and his partner are charged with capturing me," Naruto said.

"You mean?"

"I am the jinchuriki of the Kyubi," Naruto said nodding. "Kisame is partnered with Uchiha Itachi and they tried to capture me roughly a month ago."

"Uchiha Itachi is a member!" Mei gasped.

"Yes, the organization is made up completely of S-rank criminals," Shikamaru said. "Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame, Zetsu, Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara of Iwa, Sasori of Suna, Pein, Konan and Uchiha Madara are the members we know of."

"How do you know of this organization?" Mei asked.

"Jiraiya of the Sannin is my sensei," Naruto said. "And he is well known for his intelligence network. We also believe that Uchiha Madara is the true Mizukage, in place of Yagura."

"It makes sense," Mei said. "Yagura was a very compassionate person before he become Mizukage, and the tales of Uchiha Madara's _**Sharingan**_ controlling _**Biju**_ is well known. But why would he?"

"Madara wants to collect all the _**Biju**_ in hopes of controlling them with his _**Sharingan**_," Naruto said. "With them he would wield a weapon capable of destroying whole villages in an instant. As for why he controls Yagura, he wants to sow dissent and weaken all the villages. Also by having his puppet Yagura wipe out the kekkei genkai, he would insure that the _**Sharingan**_ would be the only kekkei genkai around."

"Look if we can possibly free Yagura from Madara's control it would gain you a powerful ally in reuniting Kiri," Shikamaru said. "As well as it would remove a very powerful piece from Madara's shogi board."

"Say we do believe you, why are you doing this? What's in it for Konoha?" Mei asked.

"If we don't stop Madara then our entire way of life and our world will be destroyed," Naruto growled. "We're not here to fight your fight, if you can't do that yourself then you aren't strong enough to reunite Kiri. But if you do succeed then look to Konoha from an ally."

"I can't make any promises right now," Mei said. "But if this information proves accurate, I'm sure that we will take your Hokage's offer."

Naruto nodded. "That's all we can ask," he said.

"Naruto, why did you and Shikamaru have such strong reactions when Mei-san told us that Kabuto was the leader?" Kakashi asked as the Konoha group made their way back to the hotel in the middle of Kiri.

"Kabuto is probably more dangerous than even Orochimaru," Naruto said. "In the future, he somehow mastered the _**Edo Tensei**_ and used it to resurrect dozens of ninja during the war, including several of my precious people."

"And my wife," Shikamaru growled. Kakashi and Anko paled. Shikamaru turned to Naruto; "Kabuto is mine when we fight. I've got a score to settle with that bastard," he snarled. Naruto nodded.

"Fine but remember never underestimate him," the blonde said.

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Two days later, Naruto had stationed a mass of _**Kage Bunshin**_ around Kiri in hopes of ambushing the Oto ninja before they could reach the village.

"Found them," Naruto announced as one of his clones reported back to him. "They're approaching from the northwest, it's Kabuto along with the Sound Five. Why don't we go greet them?"

Shikamaru nodded curtly. Kakashi and Anko exchanged a look but also nodded. "Grab hold," Naruto said.

"What are you talking about gaki?" Anko asked as she, Kakashi and Shikamaru put their hands on Naruto's shoulders.

In a flash of yellow, the group had vanished and left the hotel room empty as if they had never been there to begin with.

"Damnit gaki!" Anko cried. "What was that?"

"Naruto, did you just use the _**Hiraishin**_?" Kakashi asked in amazement. "But Minato-sensei said that it couldn't be used to transport more than one person."

"Well tou-san was looking into a way to expand it to transport more people however the chakra requirements were immense," Naruto said.

"How much chakra did you use?" Shikamaru asked.

"About ¼ of my normal levels," Naruto answered. "Don't worry we have some time before Kabuto shows up. And besides, the furball is finally awake."

Shikamaru nodded, understanding the reference.

"Here's how it is going to go," Naruto said. "Shikamaru will handle Kabuto, I'll take on Kimimaro, Sakon and Ukon. Kakashi, you'll have Kidomaru and Jiroubou, which leaves Tayuya to you, Anko. Don't hesitate in this battle, any of you."

"Hai," Kakashi, Anko and Shikamaru answered.

"They're here," Naruto announced.

"It seems that Konoha was able to hear about our trip to Kiri," Kabuto's oily voice slithered through the trees. Naruto and Shikamaru bit back growls at the sound of the traitor's voice. "We know that you are there Konoha ninja, why don't you come out?"

Naruto nodded and the team leapt down from the trees.

"Ah Naruto-kun, I must say that it is quite a surprise to see you here," Kabuto said with a wide smile. "But you are foolish to come here, do you really think that two genin, a jonin and one of our own can possibly hope to stop myself and the Sound Five?"

"Stop you," Naruto chuckled darkly. "Oh Kami no Kabuto, we're not here to stop you. We're here to kill you," he finished sharply. "And by the way, Shikamaru and I are both chunin now, I guess those ninja info cards aren't so accurate are they?"

"My mistake," Kabuto said. He turned to Kimimaro, "Deal with them. Lord Orochimaru would be displeased if we fail to meet with the Mizukage. And you wouldn't want to displease Orochimaru-sama, would you?"

"Of course not," the white-haired young man said.

"You're not going anywhere," Shikamaru snarled as he appeared in front of Kabuto. "I going to kill you for what you've done."

"Such hostility Shikamaru-kun," Kabuto chuckled. "And all for deserting Konoha, though I was never loyal to Konoha so you can't really say I deserted."

"You know you talk too much," Shikamaru said. "_**Hiden: Kagemane no Jutsu**_ success!"

Kabuto's eyes widened as he felt himself lose the ability to move.

"_**Hiden: Kagehari no Jutsu!**_" (Shadow Needle Jutsu) Shikamaru said coldly. Several tendrils of shadows rose up and pierced Kabuto through the arms, chest, stomach and legs. Shikamaru frowned as he realized it was seemingly too easy.

"Nice try Shikamaru-kun," Kabuto's voice came from behind Shikamaru as the 'Kabuto' before him turned into a _**Doton: Iwa Bunshin**_ and collapsed to the ground.

"You'd think so," Shikamaru chuckled as 'Shikamaru' dissolved into shadow. Kabuto's eyes widened as he whirled around in time to see another shadow racing toward him. Kabuto leapt backward to avoid the _**Kagemane**_.

"It seems that you've gained a little strength since the Chunin Exams," Kabuto said, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "But I'm on a totally different level. I could go toe-to-toe with Hatake Kakashi if I wished."

"What do you know, I could beat Kakashi with one arm," Shikamaru chuckled. "_**Doton: Yomi Nomu!**_" (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld).

Kabuto cursed as he felt the ground underneath him turn into a swamp and begin to suck him down into the earth. Channeling chakra into his legs, Kabuto leapt clear of the swamp and landed above Shikamaru in the treetops.

"Quite an interesting jutsu you have there, Shikamaru-kun," Kabuto said. "That is one of Jiraiya-sama's favorite jutsus. How did you come by it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Shikamaru growled as he pulled a pair of trench knives from his pouch. "You're going to die today."

Shikamaru shot up into the trees, his chakra extending the trench knives' reach. He slashed at the Oto ninja, who ducked underneath the attack. Smirking, Kabuto activated his own jutsu, _**Chakura no Mesu**_ (Chakra Scalpels). Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the sight of the jutsu that killed his unborn child as well as his wife.

"You know I really hate that jutsu," Shikamaru snarled.

The two ninja clashed against one another. Kabuto was stunned that Shikamaru was able to keep up with his movements, as well as the ability to dodge each of his _**Chakura no Mesu**_ strikes.

"_**Doton: Doryuudan!**_" Shikamaru spat out several globs of mud that transformed into the heads of dragons. Kabuto slashed through the _**Doton**_ projectiles with his _**Chakura no Mesu**_.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Kabuto taunted as he raced toward Shikamaru.

"I already did," Shikamaru said. Kabuto froze as a shadow shot from the trees and caught his own. Kabuto growled as he heard the telltale poof from a _**Kage Bunshin**_. Shikamaru stepped out of the shadows, with a cold look on his face. "_**Hiden: Kage-Kubishibari no Jutsu!**_ I'm going to enjoy squeezing the life out of you for what you've done."

"I didn't think I'd have to use this but it seems that I underestimated you Nara Shikamaru," Kabuto said, seemingly unconcerned at the shadowy hands tightening their grip on his neck. "But you forced me to use this."

Shikamaru was stunned to see a shroud of chakra erupt from Kabuto, easily breaking his _**Kage-Kubishibari**_. Black lightning-like tattoos spread across Kabuto's face and arms.

"You have a Curse Seal!" Shikamaru gasped.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama deemed me worthy to receive his mark after the failed invasion of Konoha," Kabuto said. "But I never thought that I would have to use it against someone like you."

"Well this is unexpected," Shikamaru muttered. He broke off his jutsu and leapt backward to avoid another _**Chakura no Mesu**_ slash. He blocked a kunai strike with his trench knives, and grunted under the force of the blow.

"Come now Shikamaru-kun, surely this isn't the extent of your strength," Kabuto taunted. "You say you will kill me, but it looks like I'll be the one doing the killing."

"_**Doton: Iwahari no Jutsu!**_" (Earth Release: Stone Needles) Shikamaru cried. He stomped the ground and a rock the size of his head shot into the air. Shikamaru punched the floating rock and sent a mass of needle-like stones speeding toward Kabuto.

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_Naruto vs. Kimimaro, Ukon and Sakon_

"Blonde hair, blue eyes, whisker marks," Kimimaro said in his deep voice. "So you are the child that has given Orochimaru-sama so much trouble. For this transgression you must be destroyed!"

'_Man, I forgot how devoted Kimimaro was to Hebi-teme,_' Naruto thought. '_I need to finish this quickly, I know that Shikamaru can handle Kabuto and Kakashi and Anko can handle the others but if this drags on then we might attract the attention of Kiri and the Mizukage. And if Yagura were to show up, then Madara will find out and that's something we can't afford to have right now._'

"This is the brat that beat Suna's demon?" Ukon asked. "He looks like a punk, this will be easy."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and pulled out a tri-pronged kunai. "I'll show you a demon," he growled before flinging the kunai at Ukon. The Oto ninja laughed as he easily dodged the blade.

"You'll have to do better than that trash," Ukon scoffed.

"Dodge this! _**Futon: Rasengan!**_" Naruto roared from behind Ukon. The Oto ninja spun around to see Naruto behind him holding a swirling ball of white chakra that had four points making it look like a shuriken. Naruto slammed the jutsu into Ukon's stomach. The gray haired ninja opened his mouth in a silent scream as the _**Rasengan**_ tore through his clothing and flesh before it expanded and engulfed him in a swirling mass of chakra sending him flying backward.

"That's two down," Naruto commented as he turned to face Kimimaro, who merely arched an eyebrow.

"Ukon and Sakon are trash compared to me, I am Orochimaru-sama's chosen one," Kimimaro said. "Let me show you why." Raising his hands, Kimimaro uttered, "_**Teshi Sendan!**_"

Naruto whipped out another tri-pronged kunai and channeled chakra through them, letting them gain a glowing white color. Naruto weaved his way through the projectiles, knocking aside only two of them. "You're going to have to do better than that," Naruto said.

"Indeed," Kimimaro said. "I don't have time to deal with such trash." Slowly black tattoos spread over Kimimaro's body. Naruto frowned as he felt Kimimaro's chakra levels rise significantly. "You should be honored that you have forced me to use this form. Gaze upon the gift that Orochimaru-sama has graced me with."

"You think getting bitten by that Orochimaru-teme is a gift, then you are truly delusional," Naruto said, readying himself for the onslaught that he knew was coming. '_Kurama, I'm going to need some help here. I need to use __**Futon: Rasenshuriken**__ to beat this guy. None of my other moves are strong enough to do enough damage and I don't think he'll stay back long enough for me to enter __**Sage Mode**__._'

'**You're probably right kit,**' Kurama 'said'. '**You won't be able to stay in **_**Biju Mode **_**for very long though because of your younger age and body. I estimate that you will only be able to maintain it for about five minutes, so finish this quickly. Also, I believe that shadow user is having some trouble with that Kabuto character.**'

'_Thanks for the update Kurama,_' Naruto thought.

"I will only need my first dance to deal with such trash," Kimimaro said. Suddenly the skin over his shoulder spilt open and Naruto watched in disgust as the bone-user pulled a bone from his body as it took the shape of a sword. The Oto ninja charged at Naruto, his sword slashing down at the blonde ninja. Just before the bone sword connected with Naruto, he disappeared in a flash of yellow. Kimimaro spun around to see Naruto standing roughly twenty meters away from him, wreathed in golden flames.

Naruto stuck out his hand and quickly created a _**Rasengan**_ while two glowing golden chakra arms came out from over his shoulders and covered the _**Rasengan**_. A screeching sound echoed around the clearing.

"What is that jutsu?" Kimimaro asked. "It seems that this boy is stronger than I anticipated." Slowly, Kimimaro's skin began to turn gray, spike-like bones protruded from his back and a massive bone-studded tail sprung from his back. Naruto arched an eyebrow as he recognized the second stage of Kimimaro's Curse Seal.

"_**Futon: Rasenshuriken!**_"

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_Kakashi vs. Kidomaru and Jiroubou _

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at his two opponents. From what Naruto and Shikamaru had briefed him on Kidomaru and Jiroubou's abilities, he was going to have a tough time. Kidomaru was proficient at long-range combat while Jiroubou focused on close-range; together they were a very dangerous duo.

"It seems that we get to fight the legendary _**Sharingan no Kakashi**_," Kidomaru grinned. "This should be fun." Jiroubou huffed.

"Don't underestimate him Kidomaru," the large boy said. "There is a reason that this man is an A-rank ninja."

Kakashi sighed. '_I don't have time to mess around,_' he thought as he uncovered his _**Sharingan**_.

"Damnit fatso, I know that," Kidomaru snapped. "But that doesn't mean I can't have some fun with this Konoha trash."

Several chains of triangle-like tattoos spread across Jiroubou's body. Similar markings appeared on Kidomaru. "_**Doton: Doryuudan!**_" Jiroubou said, spitting out several large mud projectiles in the shape of dragon's heads.

"_**Doton: Doryuu Heki!**_" Kakashi countered as a large earthen wall rose from the ground and intercepted the _**Doryuudan**_. Just as the _**Doryuu Heki**_ fell back into the earth a large golden arrow came screaming toward him.

"Kuso!" Kakashi cursed as he used the _**Kawarimi**_ to replaced himself with a nearly by boulder. The arrow spilt the boulder easily in half. "Maa, maa, that was close," Kakashi said as he stepped out of the trees in front of the two Oto ninja.

Jiroubou raced toward Kakashi and threw a massive punch. Kakashi's eyes widened as his _**Sharingan**_ noticed the chakra build-up in the fist, much like Tsunade's own taijutsu style. Ducking under the blow, Kakashi had to raise his arms in order to block the knee strike that Jiroubou had followed up his punch with. Kakashi stifled a cry of pain as the knee strike connected with his arms. It felt like someone had just slammed a mountain into his arms. Kakashi was thrown backward before he slammed into a tree trunk that knocked the wind out of him.

"Come on Jiroubou, let me play with the trash," Kidomaru laughed from above Kakashi. Looking up, Kakashi was disgusted to see that Kidomaru no longer looked even remotely human. His skin was now the color of mud and had several medium-sized spikes sticking out of his elbows and knees. Kidomaru grinned wickedly as he spat out several golden-colored kunai-looking projectiles. "Let's see how the Konoha trash deals with this."

Kidomaru hurled four of the projectiles at Kakashi with impressive speed. However, Kakashi easily evaded them by jumping upward and landing against a nearby tree trunk.

"_**Chidori!**_" Kakashi growled as his hand became encased in lightning. He shot off the tree trunk and sped toward Kidomaru. The spider-like Oto ninja's eyes widened as Kakashi appeared before him in an instant and slammed the _**Raiton**_ jutsu into his chest. Kidomaru gasped as he struggled to breathe. Kakashi yanked his arm free of the dying Kidomaru in time to avoid being slammed aside by Jiroubou's shoulder.

"You shall pay for that," Jiroubou growled as he transformed into the second stage of his Curse Seal. His skin turned a dark orange and wart-like protrusions covered his face and shoulders.

"Unfortunately I don't have time to fool around with you," Kakashi said coldly. "_**Katon: Goukakyuu!**_" A massive fireball spat from Kakashi's mouth shot toward the enraged Oto ninja.

"_**Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!**_" (Earth Release: Earthen Shield) Jiroubou countered as a large wall of earth rose from the ground, shielding Jiroubou from the _**Katon**_ jutsu. Jiroubou smirked as the _**Katon**_ jutsu dissipated against the _**Doton**_ wall.

"_**Chidori!**_" Kakashi's voice cried, as the _**Doton**_ jutsu broke apart to revel Kakashi speeding through the rubble, his right hand encased in lightning once again. Jiroubou tried to leap backward but Kakashi was too fast and his jutsu easily pierced through Jiroubou's chest and heart. The massive Oto ninja went slack as his eyes went dim. Kakashi wrenched his hand free of the dead Oto ninja. He turned away from his dead opponents back toward the other battles going on.

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_Anko vs. Tayuya _

"So then, you're Orochimaru-sama's tossed aside trash," Tayuya taunted as she and Anko faced off against each other.

"Man, has that teme got you wrapped around his finger," Anko sighed. "You do know that once you've outlived your usefulness, he'll toss you aside like nothing. That's how he works; he'll give you a taste and then toss you away like trash. I should know I was his apprentice for several years. I was the first one he tested that damn seal on, then he abandoned me."

"You know nothing of Orochimaru-sama's greatest!" Tayuya cried. "I shall show you the immense power that Orochimaru-sama has graced me with!" Hook-like tattoos spread across Tayuya's face and arms and she pulled out a flute. The red-haired girl quickly played a tune from her flute. Anko's eyes widened as she noticed her surroundings began to melt away. Then she smirked and easily broke through the genjutsu.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Anko chided as she raced toward Tayuya. The red-haired Oto ninja leapt backward and played another tune. Three massive plumes of smoke appeared around Tayuya causing Anko to pull up short. Three massive ogres leapt out of the smoke.

Anko grinned manically as she flashed through several hand signs. "_**Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!**_" A massive stream of fire spilled from Anko's mouth and engulfed the three ogres.

"NO!" Tayuya cried as her summons were destroyed.

"_**Sen'eijashu!**_" Anko shouted. Several snakes erupted from Anko's sleeves and sped toward Tayuya. The Oto ninja screamed as the snakes quickly ensnared her and she was yanked off her feet and toward Anko.

"Sorry girly but that bastard isn't here to save you," Anko growled. "He's abandoned you to your death. Goodbye." Tayuya tried to scream out but was silenced as Anko slit her throat.

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_Naruto vs. Kimimaro_

"_**Futon: Rasenshuriken!**_" Naruto shouted as he flung the _**Futon**_ jutsu at Kimimaro whose eyes widened at the sight of such jutsu flying toward him. The Oto ninja made to leap away but just as he was leaving his feet, the jutsu expanded and engulfed him. Naruto sighed as Kimimaro screamed in agony. When the jutsu finally dissipated, Kimimaro collapsed to the ground. Naruto cautiously approached the downed ninja, his Kyubi cloak still intact.

Naruto froze as he sensed two chakra signatures approached, then relaxed when he recognized them as Kakashi and Anko.

"I see you have finished off your opponents," Naruto said, ignoring the gobsmacked faces of Kakashi and Anko.

"Naruto, what happened to you?" Kakashi asked.

"Don't worry, this is just me and Kurama working together," Naruto answered. "I can only hold this form for a few more minutes because my body isn't strong enough yet to fully control it."

"Is he dead?" Anko asked, as she looked into the massive crater that Naruto's _**Futon: Rasenshuriken**_ had created.

"He should be," Naruto said. "Even if he did survive that, he won't be able to use any chakra."

"Why?" Kakashi asked.

"My _**Futon: Rasenshuriken**_ attacks at the cellular level, it creates an innumerable amount of tiny _**Futon**_ blades that pierce the body and decimate the target's chakra network. When I was first creating it, I couldn't throw it and it was a double-edged sword due to that issue. It would somewhat effect my own hand when I used it."

"I will not fail Orochimaru-sama's ambition. Die!" A pain filled scream brought the three Konoha ninjas' attention back to the massive crater. Kimimaro had somehow regained his feet and was sprinting up the crater's wall. Naruto narrowed his eyes before he disappeared in a flash of orange.

"_**Rasengan!**_" Naruto roared as he reappeared behind Kimimaro and slammed the _**Rasengan**_ into the back of the Oto ninja's head causing it to explode into a bloody mist. The body of Kimimaro slumped to the ground. Naruto sighed as he deactivated his Kyubi cloak.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

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_Shikamaru vs. Kabuto_

Shikamaru grunted as he blocked a spinning kick from a Curse Seal-influenced Kabuto sending him flying backward. Kabuto's possession of a Curse Seal was an unexpected nuisance and it was proving very troublesome for Shikamaru. He had sensed that Naruto, Kakashi and Anko had all finished their fights and were quickly approaching his own battle.

"_**Hiden: Kage Intokusha!**_" (Secret Technique: Hiding in the Shadows) Shikamaru muttered as he sank into the shadows of the trees.

Kabuto sneered as he looked around. "Pathetic Shikamaru-kun," he said. "I expected more than this from someone from one of Konoha's great clans. Where is that amazing intellect that was rumored to belong with the Nara clan? Or are you the black sheep of the family?"

"Not quite," Shikamaru's soft voice came from behind Kabuto. The Oto general spun around but saw nothing. "Goodbye and good riddance," Shikamaru said as he slowly emerged from Kabuto's own shadow and quickly stuck one of his trench knives into the base of Kabuto's skull. Kabuto didn't even have time to grunt as he collapsed to the ground.

"Nicely done Shikamaru," Naruto said as he, Kakashi and Anko appeared from the trees.

"So the Sound Five is finished?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto nodded.

"Yes," he said. "And we've eliminated their corpses as much as we can, that should make sure that no one can revive them with the _**Edo Tensei**_. We should do the same to Kabuto's corpse." The Nara heir nodded. "_**Katon: Kaenhoushaki!**_" (Fire Release: Flamethrower) Naruto said before breathing out a massive stream of white-hot flames that engulfed the corpse of Kabuto. After less than a minute, the flames died down leaving nothing but scorched and barren earth.

"We should leave now," Kakashi said. "With all the high-powered jutsus we've used, I wouldn't be surprised if Kiri has sensed our battles and are sending out teams to investigate."

"Good idea," Anko said. "But what about the Mizukage? If Orochimaru has sent people to meet with him, wouldn't the Mizukage be expecting them?"

"Don't worry about that," Naruto said. "The Mizukage will most likely think that the Bloodline Rebels will have ambushed the group. I talked to Mei-sama about this exact possibility and she said that she could use the fact that Yagura was attempting to ally himself with Orochimaru as a recruiting tool as the Hebi-teme's experiments are well known."

"Right then, we better get moving," Shikamaru said. The four Konoha ninja leapt off into the forest leaving the demolished landscape. As they left, a pair of yellow eyes gleamed out from the shadows watching them with cruel amusement.

**A/N: Well here's the newest chapter of '_True Meaning_', hope you all enjoy it. I know I updated twice last week, well that was because I was traveling and had plenty of time to write it out. I'm hoping to update once a week depending on how much I work. I usually use my off days from work to write out the outline then type the chapter. As before, I still have a poll up on my profile page to decide Naruto's partner for this story. Please read and review, I'm always open to suggestions so leave them. I've gotten some brilliant reviews from readers such as:**

**CruxisRemnants and Useful76**

**I have also gotten some flames from some 'Guests' which are pretty funny to read IMO. I do read them though, and they did make an interesting point. I don't like Sasuke that much, I might have sped up Sasuke's evilness in my story perhaps a bit too fast, but remember, Sasuke is evil in the manga, he's an international criminal and willingly defected from Konoha, whatever his reasons are that still doesn't excuse it.**

**There's my rant, but please read and review this chapter and hopefully I'll have the next chapter up next week.**

**S.R.W.M.O**


	5. A (sand)Stormy mission

**Disclaimer: The _Naruto _universe isn't mint, it belongs to Kishimoto. I'm just having some fun in his sandbox, hopefully I'll be filling some plot holes that I think exist as well as not creating even more holes.**

It took the Konoha team three days to make the return journey from Mizu no Kuni to Konoha. They had to be extra careful not to be spotted by any ninja that were loyal to either the Mizukage or Orochimaru. Once Orochimaru got word that his envoys had failed, he might show up and figure out what happened. Once the team made it to Nami no Kuni, they broke all sense of secrecy and sped back to the village as quickly as possible. As soon as they reached the village, Naruto, Shikamaru, Kakashi and Anko were escorted to Tsunade's office.

"So?" Tsunade asked once the team were before her.

"The mission was successful," Naruto said. "We made contact with the Bloodline rebel leaders, Temurī Mei, and she is open to talks between her group and Konoha, though they need to fix their own country first. We also told Mei-sama that Yagura was possibly under a genjutsu by Uchiha Madara, as expected she and her group was stunned. But Mei did say that Yagura before he became Mizukage was very different."

Tsunade nodded. "What of the other half of your mission?" she asked.

"The envoys were Kabuto and the Sound Five," Shikamaru said. "I confronted Kabuto, Naruto-sama fought Kimimaro and the twins Sakon and Ukon while Kakashi-sensei fought Jiroubou and Kidomaru, and Anko fought Tayuya. Kabuto and the Sound Five are dead, and their bodies have been destroyed completely to ensure that Orochimaru doesn't attempt to resurrect them using the _**Edo Tensei**_."

"I spoke with Mei about the possibility of them taking the 'blame' for the Oto envoys' deaths," Naruto said. "She said that could work as she would spin the story to say that Yagura was attempting to ally himself with Orochimaru."

"I like this Mei woman," Tsunade said. "She sounds like she is my type of woman."

"She does become Mizukage after Yagura's death," Naruto said. "She's certainly strong enough to be a Kage."

"So what happens now?" Shikamaru asked. "Orochimaru has to know by now that his envoys have been either delayed or killed. He's going to try something."

"We can't worry about that now," Tsunade said. "We have to take advantage of this lull and build up our forces and get ready for the storm coming. The Chunin Exams are coming up in four months and Kiri is hosting them. If we can stay in contact with Mei, it is possible to have our teams assist her group if they were to make an attempt on freeing Kiri during the Exams."

"So we would use Orochimaru's own strategy against Yagura," Shikamaru said. "It could work but we would need to make sure the teams we send to the Exams are both strong enough to fight and advance, while still not attracting attention."

"I think that we should send the Rookie 9 and Team Gai, just put Sakura-chan in Shikamaru's place," Naruto said. "They have the experience in both the exams as well as fighting. We'll have to amp up their training though."

"That's the idea," Tsunade said. "In two months time, I will evaluate the three teams and decide if they are ready. If they are ready, then I'll set aside some C-rank missions for them that will get them ready for combat."

"Are you sure that's wise Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi asked. "I have faith in Sakura, she's improved dramatically and so have the other genin but are you sure that this is for the best."

"They are our best chance of getting this to work," Naruto said. "I don't want the others to have to go through this but what other chance do we have?"

"What about us?" Shikamaru asked. "What will we be doing during this training period?"

"You and Naruto are going to be helping fix the Academy curriculum," Tsunade said with an evil grin. "Naruto, since you are the only available _**fuinjutsu**_ master that we have, you'll be teaching a beginner's class on _**fuinjutsu**_. And Shikamaru, you'll be teaching a battle tactics class." Naruto and Shikamaru frowned at the blonde woman; they didn't want to be wasting their time teaching brats.

"Oh come baa-chan!" Naruto whined. "We can't teach the brats! We need to keep training!"

"Oh relax gaki," Tsunade said. "You wouldn't believe how badly sensei let the Council screw up the Academy since the Kyubi attack. They pretty much dropped all but the bare minimum of physical training, and focused more on theoretical knowledge, if an average genin from this class fought against one from my era, this generation's best would have gotten crushed."

Naruto nodded. One of the first things he had done when he became Hokage was to update the Academy. While Konoha churned out more genin than any other hidden village, the percentage of genin that actually advanced in the ranks to chunin or jonin were miniscule to the other villages. Barely 15% of Konoha genin made it past the rank of chunin since the Kyubi attack.

"Each of your jonin senseis will be helping out at the Academy as well," Tsunade said. "Gai will be teaching taijutsu, Kakashi will teach ninjutsu and Kurenai will be assisting in teaching genjutsu."

Naruto and Shikamaru each hid a grin at Kakashi's expression when Tsunade announced this. "But Tsunade-sama, I already have a team to teach!" he said.

"Like I told Naruto and Shikamaru, this won't take away from that," Tsunade said. "Though you might have to be on-time for things now. Oh and if I catch you reading that damnable smut during class, I will have it banned throughout the village! Do I make myself clear Hatake-san?"

"Hai," Kakashi said grumpily, as he clutched his orange-covered book. Anko, Naruto and Shikamaru were struggling to contain their sniggers.

"Dismissed," Tsunade snapped. The four ninja straightened to attention before vanishing from the office.

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"Good morning class," Naruto said as he appeared before the Academy students for his first _**fuinjutsu**_ class. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I am a chunin and will be your teacher for the art of _**fuinjutsu**_ this semester."

"How old are you?" a dark haired student asked from the back row.

"I am fourteen years old," Naruto said.

"And you're our teacher!"

"Yes," Naruto said shortly. "My clan, the Uzumakis, was world-renowned for being the foremost _**fuinjutsu**_ experts before they were wiped out, except for the rare survivor, during the _**Dainiji Ninkai Taisen**_ (Second Shinobi World War) by the combined forces of Iwa, Kumo and Kiri." The many of the students' eyes widened at this. "Now can anyone tell me what you can do with _**fuinjutsu**_?" After a moment's pause, Naruto continued, "Actually, there isn't much of anything that you can't do _**fuinjutsu**_. It is the most versatile of the shinobi arts. Explosive tags are a commonly used _**fuinjutsu**_, as is _**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_. The Yondaime Hokage was a _**fuinjutsu**_ master, as is Jiraiya of the _**Densetsu no Sannin**_. The Yondaime's legendary jutsu, the _**Hiraishin**_, is a _**fuinjutsu**_-based jutsu."

"Wow," one of the students uttered.

"Now, the first thing you need to have to become a _**fuinjutsu**_ master is very good hand writing and calligraphy," Naruto said. "So today we're just going to work on all of yours hand writing, as well as writing speed."

"Ah come on Naruto-nii," Konohamaru whined. "Why do…"

"Excuse me Sarutobi-san, but in class you will address me as Naruto-sensei," Naruto corrected sharply. "Is that understood?" he added with a glare at the grandson of the Sandaime. The young Sarutobi gulped and nodded meekly. "Right then, each of you has a piece of paper in front of you, I want to you write out your names as many times, clearly, in one minutes time. Don't focus on speed, speed will come with time, slow is smooth, smooth is fast."

"Hai Naruto-sensei," the class said.

"And begin."

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"Good morning troublesome students," Shikamaru grumbled as he entered his classroom.

"Good morning sensei," the class answered somewhat confusedly.

"My name is Nara Shikamaru, I am a chunin and it is too troublesome to continue," Shikamaru muttered. "On your desks, there is a book called '_The Art of War_,' by Sun Tzu. Read it because we are at war! Don't forget that, as Academy students, while you won't be on the front lines, you all have an important mission to complete."

"What's that Shikamaru-sensei?"

"If our village is attacked, it is up to the Academy students under the direction of the younger genin to lead our civilians to the shelters that are strategically placed around the village," Shikamaru said.

"Do you really think it will come to that Shikamaru-sensei?"

"I don't know," Shikamaru answered honestly. "I don't believe it will come to that but war is always unexpected and one can never truly know what might happen. All you can hope is that you do the best you can. The Will of Fire is something that is passed down through the years to each new generation of shinobi from our village. It is an overwhelming urge to protect this village, and those precious to us. Remember that."

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It had been two months since Naruto and Shikamaru had returned from their mission to Kiri. The two time travelers had been at the forefront of the refit for the Academy much to the amusement of their graduating class. However, Tsunade's refit of the Academy was paying off as the new curriculum and teachers had brought back wartime measures and teachings. No longer were there long lectures on the history of just the Uchiha or Senju clans, or mindless droning on's of the laws of the village, most of which didn't concern shinobi. The school days were packed with taijutsu training, learning how to mold and control chakra as well as learning to recognize genjutsu. The history of the village, various clans and the elemental countries were all thrown onto the back burner as homework and even then it was more recommended than required due to wartime situation.

"So how were the brats today, eh Naruto-sensei?" Kiba chuckled.

"You know Kiba, that wasn't funny the first time you said it, why do you think it would be funny now? I guess it's true that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, though we all know where the brains reside in your relationship, don't we Akamaru?" Naruto asked the medium-sized puppy that was sitting next to Kiba. Akamaru yipped playfully as Naruto scratched behind his ears.

"Traitor," Kiba grunted looking down at his partner.

"Look, during these past two months, you've all gained strength in leaps and bounds," Shikamaru said. "If I would rank you, I would say that everyone aside from Neji, Lee and Shino are mid-Chunin at least, while the others are high-Chunin, maybe pushing low-jonin."

"Now as you all know, the Chunin Exams are approaching," Tsunade said as she appeared along with the Rookie 9's senseis and Gai. "And we are here today to find out if you are all ready to be sent to Kiri for the exams."

"What!" Sakura cried. "But Tsunade-sama, are you sure that is wise?" she asked. "I mean the last time was a disaster!"

"Correct but you are all much different than you were nine weeks ago," Tsunade said. "As I said, Kirigakure no Sato is hosting this Chunin Exams and it will show the other villages that we have recovered from the invasion if we send several genin teams to the Exams."

"To decide what the teams are going to be, we will be having a small tournament," Naruto said. "Now normally, we would just have Sakura placed in Shikamaru's spot but we also want to see how far you've all come. So the match-ups will be: Sakura vs. Tenten, Ino vs. Hinata, Shino vs. Neji, Lee vs. Choji and then Kiba will fight me. Kiba will advance no matter what happens, unless he can't fight."

"All right!" Kiba shouted. "Let's go Akamaru!"

Sakura and Tenten made their way to the center of the training ground while Kakashi was made to referee. The others sat at the edge of the clearing in order to watch the spar.

"Are you two ready?" Kakashi asked. When he received two nods, he slashed his hand down and cried, "Hajime!"

"So who do you think will win?" Shikamaru asked as he and Naruto sat in the trees above the others and watched the two kunoichi sparred.

"I'm not sure," Naruto said. "Sakura has the advantage in pure elemental affinities, since she has _**Raiton**_ while Tenten has _**Suiton**_. But that doesn't always win the fight. Tenten has the advantage as long as she doesn't allow Sakura to get in close. So they are pretty evenly matched."

"_**Ōkashō!**_" Sakura cried as she punched the ground in front of her. Naruto knew that Sakura had been attempting to recreate Tsunade's 'super-strength' technique, and while she had perfected it in the future, Naruto didn't think she would have any grasp of it this early into her training under Tsunade. So Naruto and Shikamaru were stunned when a sizable fissure appeared in the ground.

Tenten leapt backward to avoid being caught up in the heaving ground. She grabbed the large scroll from her back and unsealed a pair of kama. Naruto arched an eyebrow; he knew that Tenten was more of a support-type ninja than anything, so he was glad to see that she was branching out. Sakura drew a pair of kunai and set herself as Tenten rushed toward her. Suddenly a crackling sound filled the air, Naruto and Shikamaru glanced at one another when they saw that Sakura had channeled her _**Raiton**_ chakra into her kunai.

"Clever," Naruto commented. "Sakura knows that Tenten with those kama is dangerous, and she doesn't have any range-weapons, so by channeling her _**Raiton**_ chakra through her kunai, she had extended her kunais' reach and effectiveness."

"And it looks like Tenten has realized that too," Shikamaru said.

Tenten frowned as she discarded her kama, leapt backward and then unleashed a barrage of kunai and shuriken. "_**Kage Shuriken Bunshin!**_" she cried. The kunai and shuriken multiplied into dozens.

"_**Doton: Dochuu Eigyo**_!" (Earth Release: Underground Fish Projection) Sakura cried, flashing through some hand signs. Sakura grinned as she sank into the ground without a trace, avoiding the projectiles.

"_**Sakura Appa-katto!**_" (Cherry Blossom Uppercut) Sakura's voice shouted as she erupted from the earth underneath Tenten. The bun-haired kunoichi leaned backward to just barely avoid the chakra-powered punch.

Sakura ducked under a spinning sidekick from Tenten, before catching a follow-up punch from Tenten. Sakura grinned darkly at the dark haired kunoichi as she pivoted on one foot and tossed Tenten over her shoulder. Tenten cried out as she crashed to the ground.

"_**Tsūtenkyaku!**_" (Heavenly Foot of Pain) Sakura cried as she descended down toward Tenten, her right leg raised to deliver the final blow. Tenten's eyes widened before she rolled to her feet and leapt clear just before Sakura reached ground level and created another sizable crater. Tenten scrambled to her feet and leapt over to the small pond that bordered the training ground.

"_**Suiton: Teppoudama!**_" Tenten shouted. A bullet of water shot form the pond and sped toward Sakura. Sakura dove forward and rolled under the _**Suiton**_ jutsu.

"_**Raiton: Hiraishin!**_" Sakura shouted. She flung several kunai at Tenten, each coated in _**Raiton**_ chakra. Tenten easily dodged the kunai but froze when she heard the sizzle of an explosive note. "_**Fuubaku Houjin!**_" (Exploding Seal Method Formation) Sakura grinned. "If you take another step, I activate the tags. I'm pretty sure they won't kill you but I doubt you'll be able to attend the Chunin Exams in Kiri."

"Winner: Haruno Sakura," Kakashi called out. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and deactivated the exploding tags. She walked over to Tenten and stuck her hand out. Tenten frowned but shook Sakura's hand.

"Good fight," Sakura said. "You nearly had me with that _**Kage Shuriken Bunshin**_."

"Thanks," Tenten muttered. "How did you know that _**Doton**_ jutsu? I thought your elemental affinity was _**Raiton**_."

"Oh it is."

"But then?"

"Just because I don't have an affinity for one element doesn't mean I can't use another," Sakura said. "Kakashi-sensei's affinity is _**Raiton**_, but he can use _**Katon**_, _**Doton**_, and _**Suiton**_. And with my chakra control, I have the ability to control the amount of chakra I use for a jutsu. It allows me to spread out my chakra more than others, I don't have to worry about wasting chakra."

"Very well done Sakura," Tsunade said. "And you as well Tenten."

"Thank you Tsunade-sama," Sakura answered with a bow.

"Thank you Hokage-sama," Tenten said.

"So then, whose up next?" Tsunade asked. "Ah, yes Ino against Hinata. Why don't you two show us what you can do?"

Ino and Hinata got up from where they were sitting and walked out to the clearing. Ino stood across from Hinata, trembling slightly as she settled into the Academy's basic taijutsu stance. Hinata got into her Gentle Fist stance and activated her Byakugan.

"Who do you think is going to win this one?" Shikamaru asked.

"Unfortunately I think Hinata has this one," Naruto said. "Ino, while she has come a long way since the Chunin Exams doesn't have any real skills outside of her clan's techniques. While Hinata has her clan's taijutsu style, which gives her the advantage in close-combat, and she has the elemental affinity advantage over Ino."

Naruto's prediction proved correct as while Hinata wasn't as confident as she would become, her skills were still quite ahead of Ino's. The Hyuga heir quickly decimated Ino's defenses and closed up her tenketsu points in Ino's arms and legs, causing Kakashi to call the fight.

"Ino still needs quite a bit of improvement in her taijutsu style, she needs to find a style that works for her," Naruto said. "I wonder if Anko could teach Ino her style, I think it would fit Ino quite well as well as giving Ino some pointers on mind games. The Yamanaka's are renowned for their mind jutsus, so I think that Ino would have little trouble learning how to get under people's skin and take advantage of their mistakes."

"Lee, Choji, you two are up next," Tsunade said ignoring Gai's cries of 'YOUTH.'

The two boys took up their positions and waited for Kakashi to give the signal to begin.

"Choji-kun, let us have a most youthful fight," Lee cried, flashing a bright smile and giving the Akimichi heir a thumbs up.

"Uh, right," Choji said.

"Hajime!" Kakashi cried.

"_**Konoha Senpuu!**_" Lee cried as he launched himself across the clearing. Choji raised an arm to block the vicious spinning kick.

"AH!" Choji cried. Lee's kick sent the Akimichi heir flying across the clearing. Quickly getting to his feet, Choji made several hand signs and called out his family's signature jutsu, "_**Baika no Jutsu!**_" (Multi-Size jutsu) Choji's body expanded to three times its usual size. "_**Nikudan Sensha!**_" (Human Bullet Tank) Choji's head, arms and legs were pulled into his clothes, his body taking on a sphere-like shape. He began to spin rapidly, kicking up a large cloud of dust before it sped toward Lee at impressive speeds. However, Lee was a taijutsu prodigy.

"_**Konoha Reppuu!**_" (Leaf Violent Wind) Lee shouted. Choji was thrust high into the air as Lee used his outstretched leg as a ramp for the rapidly spinning Akimichi. Lee leapt high into the air, high above the spinning Choji. "_**Omote Renge!**_" Lee's bandages unfurled themselves from his forearms and wrapped themselves around Choji's body that had finally stopped spinning. Lee wrapped his arms around Choji's body; the pair began to spin rapidly much like a drill hurtling toward the earth.

"_**Doton: Kurosubanka!**_" (Earth Release: Sand Trap) Kakashi cried out, slamming his palms to the ground. The area below Lee and Choji quickly turned into a bed of sand. Lee and Choji slammed into the sandy pit, causing a geyser of sand to rocket skyward.

"Winner: Rock Lee," Kakashi announced. He and Gai leapt forward and pulled the stunned Lee and Choji from the pit of sand.

"Like Ino, Choji has come a long way from the Academy, but he still needs more than just his clan's jutsu," Naruto said. "Something I've noticed about ninja clans, they always seem to rely heavily upon their clan jutsus rather than branching out. I mean, the Hyuga don't use ninjutsu at all, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio only focus on their combinations jutsus. The Inuzaka use just their nin-dog coordination taijutsu. We're going to need to break them of that habit."

Shikamaru nodded. He had seen the same thing in the previous timeline as well as this one.

"All right, Shino you and Neji are up next," Kakashi said. The Aburame heir stood silently and made his way to the clearing, Neji walking just behind him.

"Are you two ready?" Kakashi asked. When he received two nods, he shouted, "Then hajime!"

"This should be an interesting fight," Naruto said. "This is the worst possible match up for Neji since he has no long-range abilities to speak of and Shino has his kikaichū which allows him to drain a person's chakra at long-range. Neither have the edge in elemental affinities since they are both _**Doton**_ users."

"_**Hakkesho Kaiten!**_" Neji cried as Shino sent a stream of kikaichū toward the Hyuga. The bugs splattered against the spinning dome of chakra.

"_**Hijutsu: Mushinagasu!**_" (Secret Technique: Insect Drain) Shino uttered. Another wave of bugs rose from the ground to surround Neji. Neji countered with another _**Hakkesho Kaiten**_, scattering Shino's bugs once more.

"_**Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!**_" Neji cried as he launched himself toward Shino. In a blur, Neji's arms struck at Shino rapidly. Shino dissolved into a flurry of bugs. "_**Mushi Bunshin no Jutsu**_," Neji snarled as he spun around to see Shino rise from the ground.

"Correct," Shino said. "You rely too heavily on your clan's taijutsu style, you are limiting your potential Neji-san. _**Doton: Dobeiashikase!**_" (Earth Release: Earthen Wall Shackles) A wall rose up around Neji and muddy tentacles wrapped themselves around Neji's wrists and ankles.

"Your plan would work on nearly any other shinobi but as a Hyuga, I can easily use my chakra to break this," Neji scoffed. He closed his eyes and concentrated but after a moment his eyes flew open. "What is this?" he shouted.

"You are correct in saying that my plan would work easily on a non-Hyuga," Shino said. "Your clan members have the ability to emit chakra from all of your limbs, but you forget about my clan's abilities. _**Hijutsu: Mushidama!**_" (Secret Technique: Insect Sphere).

Neji cried out as he felt his chakra being drained from him. After a moment, the bugs dispersed and Neji collapsed to the ground, weak as a newborn.

"Winner Aburame Shino," Kakashi announced. Gai appeared beside his defeated student and threw Neji over his shoulder and carried him over to the others and set him down. "All right, Naruto you and Kiba are up next," Kakashi said.

Kiba yelled in excitement as he leapt forward to the middle of the sparring ground. Naruto shook his head at the sight of the Inuzaka heir, bouncing up and down on his heels waiting for the blonde boy.

"Come on Kiba, do you really want to go through with this," Naruto said. "You know that you're most likely going to get smashed."

"I don't care!" Kiba cried. "I'm going to kick your ass Naruto, I'm going to show everyone how strong I've become."

Naruto rolled his eyes but flickered and appeared across from Kiba. "All right Kiba, let's see what you've got," Naruto said.

The fight was over before it truly began. Kiba launched himself at Naruto using his clan's signature jutsu. Naruto dove under the attack before he spun around and landed a powerful kick to the small of Kiba's back. Kiba cried out as he was sent flying across the sparring ground. Kiba slowly got to his feet and turned back to face Naruto but the blonde was nowhere to be seen.

"You should never let your opponent get behind you," Naruto's voice whispered from behind Kiba. "_**Keruketsu!**_" Naruto shouted. (Kick in the Ass Jutsu).

"AIEEEE!" Kiba cried as he clutched his ass after being punted into the air. He crashed to the ground with a loud thud and groan. The others watching had to turn away to avoid laughing out loud.

"Winner Naruto," Kakashi chuckled.

"Well done all of you, even Kiba," Tsunade said with a grin at the feral ninja, who just grumbled. "Let's take a break for lunch and then we will continue with matches against Hinata vs. Sakura, and then a three-way match between Lee, Shino and Kiba."

Sakura looked over at Hinata who stared back at the pink-haired girl and gave her a curt nod. Sakura returned the nod trying to ignore the feeling of doom coming from the meek-Hyuga girl. After an hour-long lunch break, Hinata and Sakura stood across from each other on the sparring ground.

"So Naruto, who do you think will win?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm not sure," Naruto said. "Hinata has the advantage in taijutsu because of her clan's style. Though Sakura-chan does have baa-chan's super strength technique, which if used correctly could put the match in her favor. They both have the same elemental affinity so that's a wash, though Sakura-chan has more jutsus at her disposal, only because Hinata is fighting against her clan's normal decree of not using ninjutsu. Sakura-chan can't use any genjutsu thanks to Hinata's _**Byakugan**_, Sakura has the edge in ninjutsu and Hinata has the edge in taijutsu, so this match could go either way."

"Hajime!" Kakashi cried. Hinata leapt forward, her fingers glowing with chakra already, intent on ending the fight. Sakura leapt backward to avoid the _**Jūken**_ strike and then slammed her fist into the ground, creating a large fissure in front of her. The fissure forced Hinata to break off her attack and the Hyuga heir leapt backward to regain her balance.

"_**Raiton: Hiraishin!**_" Sakura shouted, flinging several kunai encased with lightning toward Hinata. Hinata weaved her way through the kunai with ease, using her natural flexibility. Sakura leapt backward to gain more space; she knew that Hinata had a huge advantage in close combat with her _**Jūken**_ style taijutsu. She had to rely on mid-range and long-range combat if she had any hopes of beating Hinata.

"_**Raiton: Jibashi!**_" (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder) Hinata cried sending streams of _**Raiton**_ chakra through the ground toward Sakura.

Sakura leapt into the air to avoid the _**Raiton**_ jutsu. She pulled out several shuriken and tossed them at Hinata and then shouted, "_**Kage Shuriken Bunshin!**_" The five shuriken multiplied into twenty.

"_**Hakkesho Kaiten!**_" Hinata shouted, a spinning dome of chakra engulfed her and deflected the shuriken.

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "Interesting, Hinata knows that jutsu," he said. "Sakura-chan is going to have to come up with something more powerful to beat Hinata."

"Looks like Sakura knows that as well," Shikamaru said. Naruto turned his attention back to the fight in time to see Sakura flip over in midair and smash the ground with an immensely powerful axe kick. Hinata leapt sideways to avoid being thrown off her feet by the shockwave that came from Sakura's kick.

Hinata gained her balance extremely quickly and sped toward Sakura. Sakura tried to leap away but Hinata was too fast. In a flurry of motion, Hinata struck at Sakura's tenketsu points, closing them on her arms and legs, causing Sakura to flop to the ground unable to move.

"Winner Hinata," Kakashi announced.

"Well done Hinata-chan," Kurenai cried out. She had a wide smile on her beautiful face as Kurenai rushed over and hugged Hinata. Hinata blushed in embarrassment before muttering thanks to her sensei.

"Now for the last match, Shino, Lee, Kiba, would you three come out here?" Kakashi asked. The three boys made their way out to the sparring ring, Shino at a much more sedated pace than Kiba or Lee. Naruto watched the trio of genin through narrowed eyes. Shikamaru glanced at his Hokage.

"What are you thinking Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru whispered.

"I'm trying to figure out how Shino is going to win this match," Naruto said. "Lee and Kiba are both too hotheaded to truly work together and beat Shino, who is the biggest threat at the moment. But Lee's condition takes away Shino's main advantage regarding his bugs. So it will either come down to Lee beating Shino or Shino finding a way to outlasting Lee."

Shikamaru looked over at the trio of fighters and sized them up. Naruto was right, Kiba and Lee looked like they were about to burst out of their sandals and start fighting while Shino was calmly looking over his two opponents. Kakashi signaled the beginning of the fight and Lee and Kiba launched themselves at each other, hoping for the quick victory.

"_**Konoha Senpuu!**_" Lee cried as he launched himself at Kiba. The Inuzaka heir ducked out from under the spinning kick and slashed at Lee with his claws. Lee rolled over the blow and then threw a lightning quick punch at Kiba's chest. Kiba cried out as Lee's fist impacted just below Kiba's ribcage.

Kiba growled as he felt a rib give way. Rolling away from the taijutsu expert, Kiba gingerly got to his feet holding his ribcage. Suddenly, he dropped to his knee as he felt his chakra drain away. Kiba whipped his head around to see Shino standing off to the side.

"_**Hijutsu: Mushinagasu!**_" Shino said as a stream of bugs flew from his sleeves toward the pair of taijutsu-users.

"Kiba's out of the fight," Naruto said as Kiba collapsed to the ground, Akamaru nudging his partner with his nose. Shino turned his attention from the downed Inuzaka to Lee. Just in time to leap back from a lightning quick flurry of punches and kicks from the green spandex-clad ninja. Shino was doing all he could to avoid Lee's attacks though the Aburame heir's movements were quickly becoming sluggish, as he didn't have the stamina that Lee did.

"I give up," Shino said as he blocked a vicious spinning kick from Lee. "I can not hope to defeat Lee in taijutsu, and he is too fast for any of my ninjutsu and my clan's techniques don't work on someone with his condition."

Kakashi nodded and called the fight. Lee looked somewhat disappointed with the decision but nodded. Tsunade stepped forward and addressed the genin.

"Well done all of you," she said. "Like I said earlier, all of you will be sent to the Chunin Exams hosted by Kiri in two months. During these next two months, each of your teams will be sent on a minimum of two C-rank missions in order to get more mission experience. When the Exams come, you will treat them as a mission, one in which failure is not an option, is that understood?"

"Hai Hokage-sama!" the assembled genin barked.

"Good," Tsunade said with a nod. "Now, Suna and Konoha have finally finalized the peace treaty as well as the new terms of our alliance. Shikamaru will be leading Ino, Choji and Sakura on a C-rank mission to retrieve that alliance and will bring it back to Konoha."

"When do we leave?" Shikamaru asked.

"Two days."

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"Are you three ready?" Shikamaru asked his three subordinates Sakura, Choji and Ino.

"Hai taichou!" the trio of genin chirped. Shikamaru rolled his eyes but stayed silent, especially after he heard Naruto chuckling from the blonde's spot leaning against the village's gate.

"What are you doing here Naruto?" Ino asked sharply. "You aren't going on this mission, Hokage-sama said it was just us."

"True but I'm going on a different mission," Naruto said. "Suna doesn't have very much _**fuinjutsu**_ experts, so I'm being sent to Suna with you so I can check on a seal that they need someone to look at."

"_**Fuinjutsu**_ is the most intricate and confusing of all the ninja arts," Ino said. "How could Hokage-sama think that a dobe like you would even begin to…" Ino's voice trailed off as Naruto and Shikamaru pinned her with a stern glare.

"Are you saying you are wiser than the Hokage _genin_?" Shikamaru snapped. "Naruto is a genius in the art of _**fuinjutsu**_, much like many other members of his clan the Uzumaki. Perhaps you should concentrate on improving your own abilities rather than putting down another's."

Ino ducked her head as her face flushed with embarrassment and a bit of anger at how lowly Shikamaru thought of her.

"Let's just get going," Naruto said. "We need to reach Suna quickly and it takes three days just to get there."

Shikamaru nodded and the four Konoha ninja leapt off into the forest.

As Naruto predicted it took the Konoha ninja three days to reach Suna. As they came into sight of the massive sand and rock wall, Naruto extended his sense outward. He had had this nagging feeling in the back of his head ever since they reached the desert that surrounded the village. To Naruto, the village felt as if it was a powder keg ready to explode, the tensions were that high. Naruto turned to Shikamaru who nodded, signaling to Naruto had he too felt the tensions coming from the village.

"Halt, who goes there?" a voice called out of the desert.

"Chunin Nara and Uzumaki leading the genin team of Haruno, Akimichi and Yamanaka," Shikamaru answered. "We are here to receive the treaty between Konoha and Suna, and Chunin Uzumaki is here to take a look at a certain seal."

"Hai!" the Suna guard said. "Please wait here while I go get someone to take you to the Kazekage tower."

"Of course," Shikamaru said. The Suna guard raced off toward the center of the village. Shikamaru turned to Naruto and nodded over to the side. Naruto nodded slightly and the two chunin made their way away from the genin team.

"So you noticed it as well?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru nodded. "I wonder what has the village so tense."

"Well, they are without a Kage," Shikamaru said. "You never did find out when Gaara became Kazekage. Gaara was elected Kazekage about a year into your training with Jiraiya-sama, though apparently it was a very close thing since many of the villagers were still frightened of Gaara."

Naruto nodded. "So do you think that my changing of Gaara's seal has sped up the process for him becoming Kazekage?" he asked.

"It's possible," Shikamaru said. "I believe that Tsunade-sama has sent you here to convince Suna that Shukaku doesn't control Gaara anymore."

"You're probably right," Naruto said. "Could the tension we're feeling be the fact that most of the village don't think that Gaara is safe and are thinking of electing a different Kazekage."

Shikamaru nodded. "That's what I think," the Nara heir said. "You know we have to make sure that either Gaara is elected or someone who is amenable to Konoha. In a perfect world, Gaara would be elected in a couple years time, give him some time to change the minds and hearts of the villagers. We need to figure out who the candidates are, and aside from Gaara who would be best for us."

"Are you sure that we should be doing this?" Naruto asked. "I mean, Gaara became Kazekage in the future without any intervention, what happens if we try to get him elected and it fails? We could end up with someone like Orochimaru as Kazekage."

"Relax Naruto-sama," Shikamaru said. "I haven't seen you this worked up in years. You just concentrate on convincing the villagers that Gaara is completely in control of his _**Biju**_, and I'll handle the rest."

Naruto sighed. "All right, I'll trust you Shikamaru just be careful," he said. "We've already changed a lot of the timeline."

"I know Naruto but we're doing this to save everyone," Shikamaru said. "We can't let Madara get a foothold anywhere if we want to win. Just focus on your job Naruto-sama and I'll focus on mine."

"All right," Naruto said heavily. "I think we were away from the others for too long, Ino especially looks quite annoyed that she can't hear us talking."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said. "She is still such a gossip hound, it's driving me crazy. We really need to break her of that habit. Some people have secrets that need to be kept for the Greater Good."

"I hate that phrase," Naruto muttered as he cancelled the barrier around he and Shikamaru with a wave of his hand. "Come on then, let's get this over with."

"What was that?" Ino asked sharply when Naruto and Shikamaru returned. "Why couldn't we hear what you two were talking about?"

"I put up a barrier that eliminated all sound from escaping from the area," Naruto said. "And beside the point, why is it any of your business _genin_?" he snapped. "Not everything is meant to be heard by your ears Ino. People have secrets that they like to be kept secret." Ino glared at Naruto for a moment but broke off due to a look from Shikamaru that meant '_back off_.'

"If you would all follow me, I shall show you to the Kazekage Tower," the Suna chunin said. The Konoha group nodded and followed the man into the village. The village hadn't changed much from the previous timeline, aside from it still be standing. As the Konoha group approached the Kazekage Tower, Naruto noticed that most of the Suna shinobi that they passed kept a wary eye on the visitors, especially Naruto. Whispers surrounded the group; Naruto's enhanced hearing was able to pick up snippets of the conversations mainly focused on him and how he defeated Gaara during the invasion two months previous.

"Chunin Nara, you and Chunin Uzumaki may proceed to the Kazekage's office but your team will have to stay here," the Suna chunin said. Shikamaru and Naruto exchanged a look.

"Very well then," Shikamaru said. "Ino, Sakura, Choji, you guys stay here and for Kami's sake don't do anything stupid," he added, mainly looking at Ino. "Naruto and I will be back shortly," turning to the Suna chunin, "I trust that no harm will come to my team, for my fellow Chunin here and I will be most upset if that were too happen," Shikamaru finished looking deep into the Suna shinobi's eyes.

"Of course not," the man stammered trying to tear his gaze away from Shikamaru but he couldn't. Naruto hid a smirk at Shikamaru's intimidation technique that he had learned from Ibiki before the scarred jonin had been killed halfway through the war. Shikamaru nodded and then turned to Naruto.

"Come on Naruto, this is troublesome but let's get it over with," the Nara heir sighed. Naruto shook his head in exasperation but followed Shikamaru down the hallway toward the Kazekage's office. Smiling in his head, Naruto had to hand it to Shikamaru; his stare down of the Suna Chunin was the perfect cover for Naruto to silently create a _**Kage Bunshin**_ and then camouflage it in order to watch over Sakura, Ino and Choji.

The two Chunin made their way into the Kazekage's office to see Gaara and his siblings standing in front of the desk in the center of the room where their sensei was sitting.

"So you are the new Kazekage?" Shikamaru asked.

"Just the candidate," Baki said. "I don't wish for this job but Suna needs someone who won't back down to the other villages as well as someone who can 'control' Gaara."

Naruto and Shikamaru looked over at the redhead who looked much more relaxed than he had two months before.

"Uzumaki-san, I want to thank you for what you did two months ago," Gaara said with a bow. "I haven't heard anything from Shukaku since you fixed the seal."

"Do you still have control over your sand?" Naruto asked. Gaara nodded. "That's great then, looks like the seal did its job. I assume that you no longer have trouble sleeping at night."

"That is correct," Gaara said. Temari suddenly crossed the room and enveloped Naruto in a fierce hug.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for giving me back our brother."

"Of course Temari-san," Naruto said. "And he's my brother too, family has to stick together." Shikamaru chuckled while stealing looks at Temari, and shooting Naruto glares for hugging his future wife. Something that Naruto thought was very funny, as did Kurama.

"Who else are candidates for the position?" Naruto asked.

"Saburo Daichi, who is a jonin, and Kimura Tsubasa, an Elder," Baki said.

"Anything we should know about regarding how they would act toward Konoha?" Shikamaru asked. Baki frowned.

"Both of them are wary of Konoha," the Suna jonin said. "They both believe that Konoha is going to use this new treaty to take control of Suna as well as they haven't forgiven Konoha for the death of our previous Kazekage."

"What are you taking about?" Naruto asked. "Orochimaru was the one who killed the Kazekage."

"Correct, but both Tsubasa and Daichi feel that Konoha should have dealt with Orochimaru years ago rather than let him survive."

Naruto and Shikamaru huffed. "Orochimaru is an S-ranked criminal, he could take on the Hokage on an even footing at the moment," the blonde growled.

"It's in the past," Shikamaru said. "I'm guessing that it would be bad if either of these men became Kazekage."

"Both men are quite powerful but in regards to the alliance between Konoha and Suna, neither wish to have it continue," Baki said. "They believe that Suna needs to be on our own, show our Daimyo that we are strong without relying on another village."

"They both also hate Gaara for what he holds," Temari sneered. "They think much like our _father_, how Gaara is a failed experiment."

Naruto growled while Shikamaru huffed in disgust.

"Why doesn't Gaara try to become Kazekage?" Shikamaru asked. "I mean, isn't he the strongest ninja in your village?"

"He is but only a very small percentage of the population believe that Gaara isn't the monster he holds. And his past doesn't bode well." Naruto nodded.

"Perhaps what you need to do is show that Gaara has changed," the blonde said. "Bring his name up for Kazekage, I can give witness that the seal I placed on top of Gaara's old seal is working fine and will keep Shukaku from eating away at Gaara's psyche with Gaara still having all of his previous abilities."

"I don't think that would be wise," Gaara said. "I believe I should work on changing the minds of our shinobi first. If my name is put in, people will think that Shukaku is trying to gain power."

Shikamaru nodded. "He's right Naruto," the Nara heir said. "People's minds won't change overnight. Gaara should focus on changing the minds of the younger generation, the older generation are more likely too set on their ways." Kankuro and Temari nodded.

"Baki is our best option," Temari said. "If we want to keep our alliance with Konoha, Baki should become Kazekage."

"I still think I should speak before your council about Gaara's seal," Naruto said. "The problem in my village is that not many people understand about _**fuinjutsu**_, and that is a bit of a problem here I think, though it probably isn't as bad as Konoha because of your village's puppet jutsus. You work with _**fuinjutsu**_ more often than Konoha does."

Baki nodded. "Very well then," he said. "Tomorrow is when the next Council meeting is scheduled, I will make sure that you and Gaara are both in attendance. Thank you Uzumaki-san."

Naruto just shrugged the compliment off. "It's fine," he said. "Gaara and I are the same, we have to look out for one another." Baki arched an eyebrow at Naruto's comment but nodded.

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The next morning two Suna ANBU members escorted Shikamaru and Naruto to Suna's council chambers. Naruto could feel emotions churning from the other side of the chamber's doors. He turned to Shikamaru and saw that the Nara heir had noticed the tension emanating from the chamber in front of them.

"In you go," one of the ANBU muttered as the group reached the door. The doors opened and Naruto and Shikamaru walked in. They found themselves in a room much like the Council chambers back in Konoha. Rows upon rows of seats rose all around them, giving Naruto and Shikamaru the feeling that they were being looked down upon, which they were. (Think of the Wizengamont chambers in _**Harry Potter**_).

"This is a closed session!" a man's voice boomed out. "What are you _Konoha shinobi_ doing here?"

"I have asked them here to discuss the treaty that we and Konoha have agreed upon as well as Chunin Uzumaki is well-versed in _**fuinjutsu**_ and he was the on who placed the new seal on Gaara," Baki said. "He is here to tell you that Shukaku will not be able to manipulate Gaara any longer."

"Uzumaki-san, is that correct?" a Council member asked.

"Hai," Naruto said stepping forward. "Whoever initially placed Shukaku inside Gaara used a very unstable seal to do so. This allowed Shukaku too much freedom in Gaara's psyche, allowing the demon to eat away at it. I'm sure that most of you know that my clan, the Uzumaki, was well known for _**fuinjutsu**_ and I used a seal from my clan's scrolls to separate Shukaku's influence from Gaara. Gaara still has the ability to call upon his sand defense as well as Shukaku's chakra but Shukaku can't try and take over Gaara."

"How can we be so sure?" a voice sneered from the shadows. "For all we know this could be a plot by Konoha to take over our village."

"We are not doing anything like that," Shikamaru said. "We have no intention of spreading more bloodshed between our two villages. We have recently learned that an organization called Akatsuki is active and is attempting to gather up all the _**Biju**_, for what reason we're not really sure."

"Surely you must be joking," a voice shouted. "There is no way that a single criminal gang could hope to steal arguably the most powerful military components that the five great nations hold."

"Normally you would be correct," Naruto said. "But Akatsuki isn't a regular criminal organization. It is totally comprised of S-rank criminals including Hoshigaki Kisame, Uchiha Itachi, Deidara the Mad Bomber, and Sasori of the Red Sands."

"That's impossible! Sasori is dead!" a voice roared down from the seats.

"What proof of these claims do you have?" a snide voice asked from beside Baki.

"Several weeks ago, while I was traveling with my sensei, Jiraiya of the Sannin, we were attacked by both Itachi and Kisame," Naruto said. "They were wearing black cloaks with red clouds adorning them."

"So you are…" the man next to Baki said.

"Yes, I am the jinchuriki of the Kyubi no Yoki," Naruto said.

"ANOTHER DEMON!" a voice shouted. "ANBU, arrest them!"

"We can use him to become the strongest of the five great nations!"

"Silence!" Gaara barked, his monotone voice filling the entire chamber. "If you attempt to lay a hand on Uzumaki-san it will be the last thing you do." Sand began trickling out from his gourd.

"The demon is trying to take over!" a council member shrieked. "Kill them all!"

"Silence Councilmember," a sharp voice barked out. "You would bring down the wrath of Konoha if their jinchuriki was killed by our shinobi."

"Look, I don't care what you think about me and Gaara," Naruto growled. "I have seen too much bloodshed to really care about trying to change your minds but don't you dare think that Gaara is the demon that he holds. Most jinchuriki are treated like scum by their own villages and you are surprised when they turn on their villages or become the very monsters that you accuse them to be. You force a self-fulfilling prophecy upon them."

"Don't take such a tone with us Chunin Uzumaki," a harsh voice growled down at Naruto and Shikamaru. "We are the Council of Suna, the most powerful members of this village. And you would do well to remember that _boy_."

Naruto growled but Shikamaru's hand on his shoulder gave him pause. "If you are so powerful, you wouldn't have any problem fighting Gaara for the title of Kazekage?" Naruto asked. "Surely men of your stature would be able to handle a rookie genin."

Shikamaru hid a grin at the sight of his Hokage playing the strings of politics so easily. Growing up, Naruto was known for getting under people's skins and when Tsunade chose him to become Hokage, Naruto turned that talent into playing politics. He played the different factions against each other, while still slowly taking away the power that the Council had amassed since his father's death in sealing Kurama. By the time that Shikamaru and Naruto had traveled back in time, Naruto had regained all the village's power back under the banner of the Hokage, much like it was during the reign of the Shodaime Hokage.

"I have nothing to prove," the man sneered. "I am Saburo Daichi, a jonin of Sunagakure no Sato, and I deserve your respect."

"I will respect you when you earn it," Naruto said, starring stoically up at the man. "And right now, you haven't earned that right. You might be a jonin of Suna but from your attitude I can tell that you think of myself and Gaara as mere weapons and tools instead of ninja and people."

"So what if I do?" Daichi sneered. "Your entire existence is only due to the graces of the previous Kages, as well as the possibility that you might be able to wield the power of the _**Biju**_ inside you."

"So you don't think of Gaara as the _**Biju**_ that is locked within him?" Naruto asked. Daichi growled.

"I am not one of those narrow minded fools that believe that Gaara is the monster he holds," Daichi spat. "But he is unstable, he could snap at any time and kill us all."

"That's why I'm here," Naruto argued. "The seal I put on Gaara will make sure that Shukaku can never influence Gaara ever again while still giving Gaara the _benefits_ of being a jinchuriki. However, I find your attitude toward Gaara and I just being weapons appalling and disgusting."

Daichi snarled as his face twisted into a picture of disgust. "Remember your place, you are not in Konoha _boy_, this is Suna and this is where I rule!" Daichi shouted.

"Not yet," Baki said shortly. "You are not Kazekage, Saburo."

"Neither are you Baki," Daichi shouted.

"True but I am not unwise enough to throw away a possible ally as well as the thanks of one who strengthened our forces," Baki said. "I believe that in time Gaara will become the strongest member of our forces, if he isn't already. So I move that Gaara be eligible to become Kazekage…"

"NEVER!" Daichi roared. "I will not have that failed experiment become a Kage! I would sooner leave the village before I see the title of Kazekage in the hands of a demon!"

"Control yourself Councilman Saburo," a calm voice echoed out in the chamber. "Jonin Baki, while I do appreciate that you have confidence in your student, you can't argue the fact that our people would never accept Gaara as Kage, not after his history."

"That is why I move to hold off on electing a Kage for a few years, let Gaara assimilate back into our forces Councilman Kimura," Baki said. "This will give our forces the chance to get to know the new Gaara."

"No!" Tsubasa roared. "We can not afford to delay such an important decision, it would make us look weak before the other countries! I move that we vote as soon as possible. We can not afford to look any weaker than we already do."

"I agree," Daichi shouted. "Vote, and vote now."

"Let us not be hasty," Baki said. "First we need to decide on the candidates for the position."

"We have three candidates, Baki, Daichi and Tsubasa," a random councilmember shouted. "Let us vote and get this over with."

"No," Baki said shortly. "If those are our three candidates, so be it. But we will have our vote in two days time when heads have been cooled. I call this meeting to an end."

"Well that could have gone better," Naruto said as he and Shikamaru led the reconstituted Team 10 back to their hotel.

"What happened?" Ino asked.

"Nothing that concerns you Ino," Shikamaru said. "Honestly, it doesn't really concern us at the moment."

"What that's supposed to mean?" Ino asked. "Why won't you tell us anything? We're your friends!"

"Not at the moment Ino," Shikamaru snapped. "Right now, you are my subordinates, nothing more, nothing less. I am in charge of this mission, and am in charge of your lives. The world doesn't revolve around what you know and don't know Ino, so back off."

Ino glared at Shikamaru, she wasn't used to the normally lazy Nara heir to be speaking to her so heatedly.

"Don't Ino," Naruto said. "Shikamaru isn't in the mood. We might be here for a couple days because without a Kazekage, Suna can't truly sign the new treaty. Suna's Council will be electing a new Kazekage within a few days."

"Then why were we sent here if Suna isn't even ready to sign the treaty?" Sakura asked. "Shouldn't they have voted for a new Kazekage before sending word to Tsunade-sama about this."

"We're not sure, but we need to be careful," Naruto said. "Something is going on in the shadows here, something that could spell doom for Suna and Konoha."

"Like what?" Choji asked shakily.

"We don't know, and that's what scares us," Shikamaru said. "Like Naruto said, you all need to be in guard. Suna might be our ally but we are in a foreign village, one that's new Kazekage might not wish to continue the alliance."

The three genin gulped and nodded.

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The next two days grew extremely tense for the Konoha ninja. Wherever they went, Suna ANBU followed them, secretly, and the citizens and regular shinobi of Suna were quite cold toward the young shinobi. It unnerved Sakura, Ino and Choji, all of whom had never been the focus of such coldness, Naruto shrugged it off because it was much less than what he had had to deal with growing up in Konoha. Shikamaru didn't notice, as his mind was busy running through every scenario that he could think of. The nagging feeling that he and Naruto had felt when they approached the village hadn't diminished; in fact it had greatly grown.

"What's the word Gaara?" Naruto asked.

"What?" The trio of Konoha genin gaped as Gaara and his two siblings stepped out of the shadows. Sakura and Ino yelped in fright at the appearance of the Suna shinobi, Sakura was shivering under the calm gaze of Gaara.

"Don't worry you guys," Naruto said. "Gaara, Temari and Kankurō are cool. And I fixed Gaara's seal so don't worry about it." Sakura nodded but she did begin to slightly edge her way away from Gaara.

"The Council is voting right now," Gaara said. "They should decide soon."

Naruto and Shikamaru nodded. "Here's too Baki becoming the next Kazekage," Naruto said.

"Not that any of you will be around to care," an unknown voice cackled from the alley before the group. A tall man with dark hair stepped out from the shadows. He was wearing a white mask with red paint around the eyes, and several fangs drooping from the mask's mouth.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"My name doesn't matter Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, all you need to know is that you won't live to see another day, neither you nor your demon-loving friends!"

Naruto growled. "Shikamaru, get Sakura-chan, Ino and Choji out of here," he snapped. "Gaara, I might need some help holding this guy off, get your siblings to find us some help."

"Hai Naruto-sama," Shikamaru said. "Sakura, Ino, Choji let's move. We need to get these civilians clear and to safety."

"Right," Sakura stammered as she grabbed Ino's arm and pulled her away from the masked man. Shikamaru had grabbed Choji around the waist.

"Temari, Kankurō, find Baki and get the ANBU here," Gaara said. "Uzumaki-san and I will hold him here."

"Hai Gaara," Temari said before she and Kankurō leapt off.

The masked man laughed darkly. "Do you really think that two demons could hope to defeat me?"

"Well, we don't even know who you are," Naruto said. "But that's besides the point, you picked the wrong two ninja to piss off. I've been itching for a good fight for quite a bit."

"_**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**_" the masked man spat a massive fireball from his mouth. Naruto and Gaara leapt apart to avoid the _**Katon**_ jutsu. A massive explosion consumed a nearby building.

"_**Rasengan!**_" Naruto roared as he sped out of the smoke and thrust his hand toward the masked man, who just laughed and leapt clear of the attack. The _**Rasengan**_ drilled deeply into a wall of a building before it blew out the lower floor of the building.

"You're going to have to do better than that," the man cackled.

"How about this?" Gaara's voice whispered out of the smoke. "_**Sabaku Kyū!**_" A wave of sand erupted from the ground around the masked man and quickly covered his entire body. Gaara clenched his fist and there came a squelching sound from the sand, like one closing their fist after cupping some water.

"Too slow," a voice giggled from behind Naruto and Gaara. The two jinchuriki spun around in time to see the masked man sitting on a pile of rubble behind them. Naruto flung several kunai at the man, who easily weaved his way through them before catching the final one. Naruto grinned darkly as he vanished in a flash of yellow.

"_**Rasengan!**_" Naruto roared, as he appeared right before the masked man. Naruto grinned as he slammed the swirling ball of chakra into the man's stomach, causing the man to cry out in pain. "Gaara, hold him down. Use your sand to break his arms and legs."

Gaara nodded and his sand quickly wrapped itself around the man's arms and legs. Naruto bit back a flinch at the sound of multiple bones being broken like twigs as Gaara's sand crushed the man's arms and legs.

"Hold him Gaara," Naruto said. "I think its time we get some answers. Why did you attack us?"

"Why should I tell a demon like you anything?" the man spat, his voice breaking due to the pain of his shattered limbs. "All you do is bring pain and destruction."

"Whom do you work for?" Naruto growled. "You had to know that you had no chance of defeating us, I've sensed your chakra before." Naruto reached up and yanked off the mask. Naruto blinked, "Well I didn't see that coming," he said.

"Councilman Saburo," Gaara said softly.

The dark haired man laughed weakly, as blood trickled from his mouth. "You will all die you demon bastards," Daichi coughed. "I only wish I would have been there to see your faces when you realize that it's all hopeless. The _Red Dawn_ is coming and you will all be killed and bring peace to our world."

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized whom the Suna councilman was working for. "Akatsuki!" he snarled. Daichi's eyes widened when Naruto uttered the name of the organization. "So then, I'm guessing you were a spy for the Akatsuki, or are you just a coward in thinking of handing over Gaara to them in exchange for some empty promise of power? Well?"

Naruto saw something flicker in Daichi's eyes. "So, it's the second one," the blonde said. "You thought that if you allowed Akatsuki to take Gaara you were actually protecting your village. If Akatsuki gets all the _**Biju**_, they will use them to take over the world and thrust our world into utter darkness and despair. There won't be anymore hidden villages standing if the Akatsuki succeeds."

"I don't care," Daichi gurgled. "You demons are all too powerful to be allowed to survive, you throw the balance of the Five Great Nations off, and without you, my daughter would still be alive! Die Demon!" Daichi ripped off his cloak reveling a flak jacket, covered in exploding tags.

"Kuso!" Naruto cursed. "Gaara, I need you to cover Daichi with your sand and get him into the air. If he ignites those tags, they'll take out a good portion of the village and cause countless deaths and injuries."

Gaara nodded and quickly his sand encased Daichi and raised an arm, leading the sand high above the village.

BOOM!

Shikamaru, Sakura, Ino and Choji whipped their heads around at the sound of a massive explosion coming from the center of the village.

"What was that?" Sakura asked quietly. "Where's Naruto?"

"Don't worry, Naruto will be fine," Shikamaru said.

Suddenly in a flash of yellow, Naruto and Gaara appeared before the group, their clothes smoking slightly.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried. "What happened?"

Naruto ignored her and turned to Shikamaru. "It was Saburo Daichi, he was working for Akatsuki," the blonde said. Shikamaru's eyes widened.

"Akatsuki? Who's that?" Ino asked.

"Something that is very bad for all of us," Shikamaru said. "Where are Temari and Kankurō?"

"They went to find Baki and bring reinforcements," Gaara said.

"We're here," Temari's voice called out as she, Kankurō and Baki appeared in front of the group, along with two squads of Suna ANBU.

"What happened?" Baki asked.

"Councilman Saburo was attempting to either kill or kidnap Gaara and myself to hand over to Akatsuki in exchange for power and protection from them," Naruto said.

"You can't be serious," Kankurō cried. "I know that Daichi is an ass but he wouldn't betray the village like that."

"It's true," Gaara said. "After Uzumaki-san and I confined him, he attempted to kill us both by using a suicide jutsu with a large amount of explosive notes."

"That's a lie!" a Suna ninja shouted. "That demon is trying to trick us! We should kill them both!"

"Silence!" Baki shouted. "Chunin Uzumaki and Gaara prevented a major disaster from occurring within our very village and you want to dishonor them."

"Baki-san, you can't be serious!" another Suna councilman cried. "The demons have corrupted your mind! The Yondaime Kazekage was right, Gaara should have been killed when it was found out that Gaara was losing control!"

"With the new seal that was placed on Gaara, there is no danger of Shukaku gaining control of Gaara," Naruto said. "So I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about us as if we aren't here."

"Hold you tongue _boy_," the councilman snapped. "We don't need your kind of help here. You've caused enough damage here, leave us!"

"Look here mister," Sakura snapped. "It seems like Naruto and Gaara saved your village, the least you could do is thank them."

"Silence girl!" the man snarled. "You don't know what this demon has done to our village. How can you defend these monsters?"

"Why are you calling Naruto a monster?" Sakura cried. "He might be a bit of a baka but he isn't a monster, the only monster I see is you."

The Suna councilmember snarled and swung a hand toward Sakura's face but it was intercepted by Naruto's hand. The man gasped in pain as Naruto's grip tightened on his wrist.

"Don't you dare try and hit my teammate," Naruto growled. He tossed the man aside with ease before pinning the crowd with a steely-eyed glare. "Look I don't care what you think of me, but I swear to Kami that Shukaku is no longer an issue for Gaara. He is completely sealed away and can't influence Gaara any longer."

"Naruto, Shikamaru, what's going on?" Ino asked.

"Look, it's been a very wild day," Shikamaru said. "Why don't we all head back to our lodgings and cool our heads? If we are all too hotheaded, we won't get anything done."

"I agree," Baki said. "Return to your homes, Scorpion, I want you to find out if anyone was injured during the attack and get them to the hospital. Then have a team scour through anything on Councilman Saburo's past, I want to know all about his dealings."

"Hai Kazekage-sama," the ANBU said crisply before he vanished in a swirl of sand.

"So they elected you Kazekage, congratulations," Naruto said. Shikamaru nodded.

"Thank you, though I don't want this job," Baki said heavily. "I believe that you were correct Uzumaki-san, Gaara will become a very well respected member of our forces but he needs time. I am hoping that in a few years, I will be able to turn the mantle of Kazekage over to him."

Gaara blinked while Naruto and Shikamaru chuckled at the stoic Suna ninja's stunned expression.

"Come on team, let's go back to the hotel, it's been a long day," Naruto said.

"Naruto, what was that man taking about you and Gaara being monsters?" Sakura asked when the Konoha contingent had returned to their hotel.

"Later Sakura," Naruto said. "It isn't something that should be spoken of in such an unsecure place." Sakura looked like she wanted to argue some more but a sharp glance from Naruto stopped her short.

"Hai," she said.

The next day the Konoha group was waiting at the gates of Suna, waiting for Baki to show up and give them a copy of the treaty between their two villages.

"Where is…" Ino began to whine but she fell silent as a swirl of sand obscured her vision. When the sand settled, four figures were standing across from the Konoha ninja. It was Baki, Gaara, Kankurō and Temari.

"Come to see us off," Naruto said as he nodded to the Suna ninja.

"I want to thank you again Uzumaki-san," Gaara said. "You have given me a chance to prove myself, to show that I am not Shukaku."

"Don't mention it, and call me Naruto, none of this Uzumaki-san stuff, it makes me feel old," Naruto laughed. "We're friends, brothers even. Brothers call each other by name."

Gaara gave Naruto a small smile. "Very well then Naruto-san," the redhead said. "Again you have my thanks."

Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head.

"Do you have the scroll?" Shikamaru asked.

"Hai," Baki said. He pulled out a small scroll from his robes and handed it to Shikamaru. "Please make sure that this gets to Hokage-sama. We have reason to believe that Daichi wasn't alone in his thoughts that we should ignore Konoha and stay isolated."

Naruto and Shikamaru each nodded. "Come on team, let's get moving," Naruto said. "I want us to reach the border by nightfall."

Sakura, Choji and Ino groaned while Shikamaru shook his head.

**A/N: Well there you have it, the latest chapter of _'True Meaning_' sorry it took so long. I've been working nearly everyday these past two weeks, so I haven't been able to work on it, also this chapter has been fighting me for a while. I had trouble finding a good ending point for this chapter, as well as one that didn't seem rushed, though I still think I could have done better. The next chapter should be up by Easter Weekend, middle of next week at the latest...I hope. But please read and review this one, let me know of any ideas that you have to make this better. **

**Thanks,**

**S.R.W.M.O**


	6. The Bloody Mist Veils ones sight

**Disclaimer: The _Naruto_ universe is NOT mine, I'm just having some fun on Kishimoto's world and hopefully fixing some of the errors that I feel are prevalent in _Naruto_, as well I hope not to make even more errors. **

The time had come. It had been seven months since Naruto and Shikamaru had 'returned' to Konoha. In the previous timeline, Sasuke had just defected to Orochimaru and Jiraiya was about to take Naruto on a three-year training trip. This time, both Naruto and Shikamaru were Chunin; the Sandaime was still alive though missing his left arm, and each of the Konoha 11 were much stronger than their previous timeline selves had been. Each of them were easily at mid-chunin level when before only Neji and Lee were that strong and maybe Shino.

Less than a week after returning from Suna, Naruto and Shikamaru were sent out with Team 8 on a C-rank delivery mission to deliver the treaty between Suna and Konoha to the Fire Capital. This mission went by much smoother than the trip to Suna, as the Konoha group wasn't attacked or caught up in an assassination attempts. Naruto and Shikamaru had spent the majority of the trip helping Hinata, Shino and Kiba balance out their weaknesses. For Shino it was sharpening his taijutsu, since he still had the tendency to rely on his bugs for jutsus. Hinata needed work on her ninjutsu and unpredictability, as she was still working on her confidence issues as well as sticking to only a handful of jutsus. Kiba was too fixated on his clan's taijutsu style in conjunction with his nin-dog Akamaru, so Naruto and Shikamaru tried to have Kiba fight against Naruto by himself in order to work on his individual skills.

Teams 10, 8 and Gai were standing at the gate of the village with their senseis, Asuma, Kurenai and Gai. Naruto and Shikamaru were standing off to the side of the group, waiting for Tsunade to send them off. Naruto and Shikamaru had spent several hours the previous night in a briefing with Tsunade, Kakashi and the genin senseis. Naruto and Shikamaru's mission was to infiltrate Mei's troops and help train them to decide if the Rebels had any chance of overthrowing the Mizukage. If Naruto and Shikamaru though that it was possible, then they would get word to Tsunade and the other Konoha shinobi and they would assist the Rebels in their fight. But if the Rebels weren't ready to Naruto and Shikamaru's standards, then the Exams would proceed as planned.

"So then, it seems that everyone is here," Tsunade said as she appeared alongside Shizune, a team of ANBU, Jiraiya and Hiruzen. "Good then, I assume that you all know your missions."

"Hai," the genin barked while Naruto and Shikamaru nodded.

"Right then, we shall see you in a couple of weeks," Tsunade said. "Remember do your best and make Konoha proud."

"Let's go everyone," Kakashi said, as the most senior ninja, he would be in charge of entire group. The three genin teams, their senseis, Naruto and Shikamaru nodded to Tsunade, Jiraiya and Hiruzen once more before they all leapt into the trees and vanished from sight.' "Don't worry hime," Jiraiya said. "They'll be fine, the gaki and Nara have trained them well along with their senseis. They'll do fine."

"I know they will Jiraiya," Tsunade said. "But…"

"This comes with the job Tsunade-chan," Hiruzen said. "You have to have faith in your ninja that they will get the job done even if you believe you are sending them to their deaths." Tsunade flinched. "It is something that every Kage must come to deal with, though if it ever becomes as if it doesn't affect you, you have reached the point to retire. Turning into Danzo isn't something that I want for any of my students, even Orochimaru."

Jiraiya and Tsunade frowned at the mention of their traitor teammate.

"I need a drink," Tsunade muttered as she turned back to the village with Jiraiya and Hiruzen flanking her.

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It took the Konoha group three days to reach the outskirts of Kirigakure no Sato. When they reached the border of Mizu no Kuni, Naruto and Shikamaru spilt off from the rest of the group and made their way to Mei's rebel camp. The genin were confused and a bit miffed that none of their senseis would say anything to them, Ino and Kiba were the most vocal about this hiding of information. It wasn't until Asuma and Kakashi put them in their places that the genin shut up and stopped digging.

"All right you guys, the Chunin Exams will begin in two days," Kakashi said. "The first exam will be held at this address, you are all supposed to be outside the building at 9am sharp. Anyone who isn't there, they and their team will be disqualified, is that understood?"

"Hai Kakashi-sensei!" the genin snapped.

"Good, now you'll have the next two days to rest up and talk over plans with your teams," Kakashi said. "Dismissed." The genin nodded and left the sitting room while Kakashi sat across from the genin senseis, his _Icha Icha_ book noticeably absent.

"I'm sorry for speaking out of turn to your genin Kurenai but Kiba needs to learn that the world doesn't revolve around him as well as Ino," Kakashi said. "They both need to learn that they will not be privy to every little thing during missions."

Asuma and Kurenai nodded. Gai nodded as well, it was heartening to see his youthful-rival asserting his position of lead jonin on this mission.

"As you all know, we are here for the Chunin Exams," Kakashi said. "However, we have a secondary mission that is dependent on Naruto and Shikamaru completing their own mission."

"What are Naruto-kun and Shikamaru-kun's mission? Why did they leave us at the border?" Gai asked.

"Roughly five months ago, myself, Naruto, Shikamaru and Anko were sent here on a two-part mission," Kakashi said. He then went on to describe the Oto envoy mission that Naruto, Shikamaru, Anko and himself were sent on. Gai, Asuma and Kurenai were stunned at the powers that Naruto and Shikamaru displayed according to Kakashi.

"Those two are really that strong?" Asuma gaped, his cigarette dangling limply from his lip. Kakashi nodded.

"Naruto is probably as strong as I am without using his _**Biju**_ mode, Shikamaru is just behind him," Kakashi said. "The only thing that truly keep those two from being absolute monsters is the fact that their bodies still haven't finished growing. Once they reach their full size, I wouldn't be surprised if Naruto surpasses his father and possibly the Shodaime Hokage."

"Surely Kakashi, you can't be serious," Kurenai whispered. "The Shodai is the original _**Kami no Shinobi**_, he is considered the strongest ninja to have existed since the Sage himself."

"It's true Kurenai," Kakashi said. "Maybe I am stretching the truth a bit but I know for sure that when Naruto reaches his prime, no ninja today will be able to touch him."

Meanwhile, the Konoha genin were seated in Team 10's room talking about the upcoming Chunin Exams.

"Why would Naruto and Shikamaru leave the village with all of us only to run off at the border?" Ino asked.

"I don't know Ino," Sakura said heavily. Ino had been trying to worm information out of Sakura about Naruto ever since the teams had started training together. How the blonde had changed from the baka that had attended the Academy to the serious and powerful ninja that Naruto had become.

"Look Ino, I don't know what's happened with Naruto or Shikamaru," Sakura said. "All that Naruto has told me is that he has decided to take being a ninja seriously. Naruto has the most chakra out of any of us, combined."

"No way!" Ino cried.

"He does," Neji said from the corner. "Uzumaki-san has probably more chakra than even any of our senseis."

"There's no way that Naruto could be that strong!"

"Having a lot of chakra doesn't mean being strong Ino-san," Lee said. "It is the will to never give up, never to admit defeat and the will to believe in oneself that truly sets Naruto-kun apart from us."

"I know that Naruto has shown a whole lot of improvement since we all graduated but really, Naruto surely isn't that strong," Ino said.

"Ino, Naruto-kun could beat each one of us all at the same time," Hinata said. "And most likely without even trying." Ino blinked at the Hyuga heiress before bursting out laughing.

"Come on Hinata, I know you have a massive crush on Naruto but do you really think that he could beat all of us at once," Ino scoffed.

"I do believe that," Hinata said, a light blush coloring her cheeks.

"I know that Uzumaki-san could defeat us all quite easily," Neji said.

"I agree," Shino said. "Why? My allies have told me that Uzumaki-san hasn't even shown his true strength, he is holding back quite a bit during our spars. If he were to go all out, I think he would be able to easily defeat Kakashi-san, Asuma-san, Gai-san and Kurenai-sensei in a series of matches. I think if they were to fight against him all at once, they would overwhelm him just because of experience."

"Surely you can't be serious!" Ino cried.

"I am, and don't call me Shirley," Shino said. Several of the genin grinned at Shino's use of the popular movie quote, though they were all still stunned that Shino agree with Hinata and Neji about Naruto's strength, as well as his belief that Naruto could beat their senseis.

"Look it doesn't truly matter what we think," Tenten said. "We shouldn't be worrying about Naruto's strength, we should be worrying about the Exams coming up. We have no idea what they are going to be like."

"Well, wouldn't they be like the Exams back home in Konoha?" Kiba asked.

"Not necessarily," Sakura said. "Tsunade-sama says that each of the Hidden Villages have their own versions of the exams. And Kirigakure no Sato was known as the '_Bloody Mist_' for a reason. These exams will be nothing like the ones back in Konoha. If their Academy's graduation exam is anything to go by, then these exams will be nothing like home." At the confused looks from her teammates, Sakura went on to explain what Zabuza had described to Team 7 nearly a year ago about the '_Bloody Mist's_' graduation exam. Choji, Ino and Hinata all looked sick while Lee was bemoaning the lack of youthfulness that the shinobi of Kiri possessed.

"Sakura-san is correct," Shino said. "I imagine that these exams will be much more 'violent' than the ones in Konoha or any other village. Why? As Sakura-san said, Kiri is called the '_Bloody Mist_' for a reason. And if that was their graduation exam, then we can infer that their Chunin Exams will be much more…difficult."

The other genin nodded morosely, a sinking feeling seeping into their entire bodies at the thought of something being harder than killing a close classmate.

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"Are you sure this is the right place?" Ino asked nervously as the Konoha genin approached a towering black building that looked nothing like an Academy of any sort. The sign above the archway read '_The Pit_'.

"It's the right address," Sakura said looking up from the piece of paper that Kakashi had given her that morning.

"It looks like a prison," Hinata stammered. "Why would they have us come here?"

"Looky here," a snide voice came from behind the Konoha group. They turned to see a group shinobi their own age, but all wearing the hitai-ate of Kirigakure no Sato. "Some babies trying to play ninja, oh and they're from Konoha. This should be easier than sensei said."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked. "Don't take us Konoha shinobi lightly."

"Please," the spokesperson for the Kiri ninja scoffed. "You're just babies trying to play ninja. Like any of you children have a chance to become a Chunin."

"Ignore them," Shino said. "It seems that we are in the correct place, we should get inside to make sure that we aren't late and disqualified." The Konoha genin ignored the jeering coming from the Kiri genin that were walking behind them. The group entered the '_Pit_' and looked around the lobby. Inside were dozens of other Chunin-hopefuls, from all sorts of villages; the Konoha group saw hitai-ate from Kiri, Iwa, Kumo, Taki and Kusa.

There was a large puff of smoke that appeared at the front of the room reveling a group of scarred and intimidating Kiri shinobi.

"Quiet down you brats," the tallest man roared out and flooding the room with KI. The room fell silent in an instant. "Now all of you are here to participate in the Chunin Exams, well let me tell you, I don't think any of you deserve to be promoted. I could tell that at least half of your wet yourself when we showed up. If it only takes a little KI to get you babies to piss yourselves, then you won't even survive long in these Exams. Now then, you will be broken up into your teams and taken to separate rooms where you will have to figure out where the staging area for the second exam is being held. You will only have one hour to get the location from your prisoner, if you fail to get the correct information, you and your team will have failed. Once you have gained the information, you will return to this room and if you are correct, then you and your team will be given a map to the next exam. Is that understood?"

Cries of "Hai," echoed through the room.

"Right then, at least you babies seem to know how to take orders," the Kiri ninja said. "Now we will call out your teams and have one of the proctors will lead you too your rooms. Enjoy!" he finished with a maniacal smile.

One by one the teams were called away by Kiri shinobi who led them out of the entrance hall and down one of two hallways that branched out from the entrance hall.

"Team 10 from Konoha, consisting of Haruno, Yamanaka and Akimichi," a voice called out. Sakura, Ino and Choji stepped forward and stood at attention in front of the main desk. "Good you're all here. Follow Hibiki to your station."

The trio of genin nodded and followed a blue haired man down a dark hallway. On either side of them were barred cells; some of the cells had other genin teams inside them though Sakura nor the others could hear anything thanks to the shimmering barrier that blocked off the noise coming from the inside of the cells.

"Here we are, Team 10 from Konoha," the blue haired man said as he stopped outside an open cell door. "Now, your target will be brought to you three in a few moments. Once the bell sounds, your hour will begin. Remember, you have an hour to gain the information and return to the main hall where you will receive a map to the staging area for the Second Exam, if you have the correct information that is. Enjoy."

The man left Sakura, Ino and Choji in the cell and locked the door, a blue shimmering barrier popping up to surround them.

"Do you have any idea what we supposed to do?" Choji asked. "I don't like how we're in a prison."

"I think we're supposed to treat this like an interrogation," Ino said. "The proctors said that we needed specific information in order to pass, and I have a feeling that the subjects won't be very willing to give up the information."

"You mean we have to torture them?" Choji asked, aghast his mouth gaping open.

"Unfortunately yes," Ino said.

"How can you be so calm about this Ino? We're talking about torturing a person!" Sakura cried.

"I'm not comfortable about this Forehead but remember who my father is," Ino snapped. "My daddy was the head of that T&I department before he retired, and my clan's jutsus were always meant for this type of work."

Just then a gray haired man appeared, wearing just a ragged, torn and dirty tunic, in the chair in the middle of the cell.

"So then, you three are the brats that are supposed to try and interrogate me," the man cackled. "You look like you'll piss just at the thought of dirtying your dainty hands with this type of work. You're from Konoha; I bet you never thought that you'd have to do something like this. Well, let me tell you little girl, the world is a dark and dirty place. And as a shinobi, you're going to have to do things that sicken you for the so-called 'greater good' of your village. But of course, you probably think that Konoha is this perfectly white place that is always right and can't do anything wrong. Well girly, you are wrong. Konoha has some deep dark secrets that would make you sick if you learned about them."

"Oh shut up," Ino snapped. "We know that Konoha isn't the perfect white castle that most people think it is, there are shadows hidden in the leaves of Konoha but it is still our home and we are proud to live there. Sakura, why don't you show this bastard what you've learned under Tsunade-sama? I'm sure that this man loves those perverted books like Kakashi-sensei."

A wicked smile came over Sakura's face as she activated her _**Chakura no Mesu**_. The man's eyes widened as he saw Sakura's hands become encased in green chakra.

"I think it's time we get started," Ino said.

"Wait, you're supposed to wait until the bell sounds," the man stammered. Just then a bell rang through the prison.

"Looks like it's begun," Ino smiled. "Sakura, go ahead and cut this man down to size. Choji, use your _**Bubun Baika no Jutsu**_ (Partial Multi-Size no Jutsu) to hold this bastard down."

Choji shivered under Ino's glare but nodded and performed the jutsu, taking the man's limbs and stretching them apart. The man grit his teeth but admirably held in his grunt of pain as his limbs and joints were stretched to the breaking point. His eyes focused on the approaching pink-haired girl with her glowing green hands and an evil smile twisting her mouth.

"Now then, are you going to tell us what we want to know, or do we have to do this the hard way?" Ino asked with a feral grin. "A big boy like you probably has become attached to your boys, haven't you? I wonder what would happen if your friends found out that you became nothing more than a eunuch, unable to get it up any longer. Sakura is a prodigy in medical ninjutsu; she could easily cut your junk off without leaving a scratch but completely unable to use it ever again. Or Sakura, hasn't Tsunade-sama been teaching you how to use her strength technique, I wonder what would happen if you used that on something that this strapping man covets. I mean, you can crush rocks with your bare hands, I wonder what would happen if you tried it on something more _delicate_?"

Sakura blushed heavily while Choji unconsciously closed his legs together while their prisoner's face paled drastically. "Now that isn't necessary," the man stammered. "I'm sure that we could work something out."

"Oh really, now what would that be?" Ino asked with a wide smile. "How can we trust you? I mean, we're the ones who are trying to advance and pass this test, while you would just lie to us."

"I promise I won't," the man yelped as Choji squeezed his arms and legs.

"We'll just have to see," Ino said. "Sakura, get ready to use your jutsu just in case this doesn't work. _**Shintenshin no Jutsu**_! (Mind Body Switch Technique)." Ino's body slumped to the ground while the man in the chair slumped against Choji's hands.

Choji turned to Sakura. "Maybe you should put Ino against the wall, sit her up," he suggested. "I don't think she'd appreciate waking up on the floor." Sakura nodded and easily dragged Ino's body to the wall of the cell and leaned her against the wall.

"Do you think Ino can figure out the information?" Sakura asked. "I mean, I know that her clan's jutsus are built for this sort of thing but no offense to her, Ino never really put much work into becoming stronger."

"You haven't noticed," Choji said. "Ever since we got back from Suna, she has been pestering Shizune-san, her tou-san and that creepy proctor from the Second Exams, Anko, I think about teaching her to become stronger."

"Really?" Sakura gasped.

"She's noticed how much you've improved since the previous exams and said something like 'I can't let Forehead get stronger than I am,' or whatever," Choji said. Sakura shook her head.

Ino gasped as she returned to her own body. She took several deep breathes before looking up at her teammates. Then suddenly her stomach lurched and she emptied her stomach onto the floor next to her.

"Ino!" Sakura and Choji cried.

"Are you all right?" Choji asked.

"I'm ok," Ino heaved once more. "Just struggling to get these thoughts under control."

A cruel laugh filled the cell. The trio of genin turned to their prisoner, who was laughing madly. "I can't believe that you did that, you foolish child," the man sneered. "Did you really think that it would be that easy to get this information? They promised me that if I didn't give up the information, they would let me go. This is my chance to get out of this hell hole, and do you think I won't try my hardest to get out of here."

"How do you know that they'll let you go free?" Sakura asked. "They could be lying to you."

"True but this is the only chance I've got," the man laughed. "If I give up the information, I'll be stuck in here for the rest of my life no matter what, if I'm lucky. I have to take the chance that Kiri will keep their word and release me, so looks like you brats are shit out of luck because I'm never going to give up where the second exam is being held."

"We'll see about that," Sakura growled. "Now what did you do to Ino? And if you don't tell me the truth, well I'll just go ahead and make sure that you are never confused for a man ever again!" She flicked her finger against the wall of the cell and several pieces of mortar and brick broke off and fell to the floor. Sakura picked up one of the pieces of brick and held it up in front of the man. The man watched fearfully as Sakura easily crushed the brick into dust with just one hand.

Sakura brushed off her gloves. "Now then Choji why don't you make our guest comfortable while I check over Ino?" she asked sweetly. Choji nodded. While he was somewhat unnerved at the way Sakura and Ino were acting, no one was going to hurt his friends on his watch. He activated his _**Bubun Baika no Jutsu**_ once more and pulled the man's arms and legs behind his body and hoisted him into the air like hog daggling from a spit.

Sakura held her hand over Ino's face and chest for a moment before turning back to Choji. "She'll be fine," Sakura said. "I think that this bastard just forced her out and her body couldn't handle it. Choji, why don't you put this man's hand out here, I think it's time to show him that we're serious."

Choji nodded and tied the man's left hand to the chair. Sakura approached the man and flicked the man's pinky finger. A sharp crack filled the air accompanied by the shout of pain coming from the gray haired man who was being restrained by Choji.

"That's one, we still have nineteen more," Sakura sneered. "And what's more, since I'm a medical ninja, I can heal each break before re-breaking them. I wonder how many times I can break your fingers and toes before our time is up."

"You're going to have to do more than that bitch," the man sneered as he bit his lip to hold back a scream as Sakura gripped his ring finger and snapped it.

"You know, you might be right," Sakura commented casually. "I don't think just breaking bones will be enough for you, maybe I should take this up a notch. _**Raiton: Hiraishin!**_" Sakura grinned as her hand became covered with lightning. "How about this?" she asked as she put her hand on top of the gray haired man's hand, right above the two broken fingers. The man cried out in pain as lightning arched up and down his hand and arm, lighting up his nerves in intense heat.

"Had enough?" Sakura asked sharply. "All you have to do is tell us what we want to know and this pain will stop, now where is the second exam being held?"

"You're going to have to do better than that bitch," the man sneered, though his face was pale and sweaty.

"I think we need to try something a little more invasive," Ino said from behind Sakura and Choji.

"Ino-chan, are you sure you should be moving around?" Choji asked.

"Don't worry about me Choji," Ino said. "Anko-sensei and Shizune-sensei have been teaching me quite a bit since we returned from Suna. They both say that I'm a natural at poisons and such, so maybe it's time I tried out one of my poisons. Though, I haven't been able to come up with an antidote for all of my concoctions." Ino pulled out a vial of purple liquid from her pouch and then dribbled it over a kunai. "This poison is made up of several different snake venoms, and all of them are neurotoxins, so they will eat away at the victim's muscles. It's quite painful as well, almost like having lava poured on your skin."

With a quick slash, Ino opened up a thin cut between the man's fingers, each of them. The gray haired man barely flinched at the feeling of the razor-sharp blade slicing through his skin but his face quickly turned to a hard mask as he began to feel a burning sensation creep up his arm. His eyes widened as purple veins began to appear.

"I estimate it will be only three minutes before the toxin fully destroys the nerves in your hand and it will slowly began to work its way up your arm," Ino said. "I have the antidote right here and I'll give it to you once you give us what we want. So what it's going to be?"

The gray haired man looked once more at his hand, which was slowly turning a darker purple as he could feel the venom slowly moving up his arm.

"All right fine," the man cried as he felt the venom surge through his body again. "Give me the antidote and I'll tell you."

"Not quite," Sakura said. "The information first, how do we know that you won't just lie once we give you the antidote?"

"How do I know that you will give me the antidote even if I tell you?"

"Well, if you don't, you'll still be dead in a matter of minutes and we'll just try the exams next time," Ino said. "So it's up to you."

The man looked up at the Konoha ninja before him before he slumped his head. "Fine," he said. "The Second Exam is being held at '_The Island_,' that's all I know. Now give me the antidote."

"Not quite," Ino said much to the shock of Choji. "Once we have confirmation that your information is correct, then we'll give you the antidote. But for now, this will slow the poison down to keep you alive." Ino smeared some salve on the man's hand and almost immediately the angry purple veins began to recede.

"Guard!" Sakura shouted. "We've got the information." After a moment, a Kiri ninja appeared at the door to the cell. "The Second Exam is being held on _the Island_." The Kiri ninja nodded.

"Give me the antidote!" the prisoner cried. Ino pulled out a second vial; this one filled with a blue liquid and then poured some of it on the wound and then the rest down the man's throat. The man sputtered as he coughed up some of the liquid. The Kiri ninja made a hand sign and the blue barrier surrounding the door disappeared. The door swung open.

"Well done, you have ten minutes to make it to the lobby and receive your map," the Kiri ninja said. "Once you get your map, you have thirty minutes to reach the Second Exam staging area, even if you are a second late, your team will be disqualified. Is that understood?"

"Hai," Sakura, Ino and Choji said before rushing out the cell and down the hallway, ignoring the cries of the prisoner they had been interviewing.

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Team Gai was led to a cell down the opposite hallway as Team 10. The Kiri jonin that led Team Gai to their cell informed the three genin of the rules of the exam before slamming the door and activating the barrier.

"How unyouthful," Lee commented as the footsteps of the Kiri ninja receded into darkness.

"Neji, can you see anything?" Tenten asked.

Neji activated his Byakugan and scanned the room. "There seems to be a trap door right in the middle of the room," the Hyuga said. "Also, I can't see anything outside the room, there seems to be some sort of seals that are blocking my Byakugan from seeing outside this cell."

"Interesting," Tenten said. "What is this test about then? I mean, we're stuck in here alone, we have to find out where the next exam is being held within an hour."

"Tenten be quiet," Neji snapped. "Something is moving below us."

Just then, the trap door opened and a thin brown haired man chained to a chair rose from the hole in the floor.

"What's going on?" Lee asked.

"I surmise that we are to interrogate this man who must have the location of the Second Exam," Neji said.

"How unyouthful," Lee spat. "How could they think we would do such a thing?"

"Lee, being a ninja means we have to do things for the village that we would sometimes think of as in poor taste," Neji said. "As a shinobi, we must do all that we can to complete the mission, and that means doing things that we might not agree with."

"Neji's right Lee," Tenten said. "As much as we don't want to have to do this, if we want to advance to the next Exam, we have to go through with this."

"Konoha scum," the man chained to the chair spat. "This won't even be hard. And here I was hoping that this would be a challenge."

Tenten and Neji frowned at the man. "What do you mean?" Tenten asked.

"Looks like I'll be set free," the man laughed. "The wardens told all of us that if we didn't divulge the information where the Second Exam is, we would be set free."

"What happens if we do manage to get the information out of you?" Neji asked.

"We're killed," the man said matter-of-factly. Lee and Tenten's eyes widened drastically. "So there's no way in Kami that you'll be getting the information out of me."

"We'll see about that," Neji said. "Tenten, why don't you practice some of your weapons training on our guest here?"

Tenten grinned as she pulled off the large scroll from her back. In a puff of smoke, a mountain of kunai shuriken and other weapons appeared. The man gaped at the pile of weapons that appeared beside the small kunoichi.

"Perhaps we should begin as we only have an hour," Neji said. Tenten nodded while Lee looked on in disapproval.

"Gai-sensei would not approve of this," Lee said. "It is most unyouthful."

"Gai-sensei would do what was necessary to complete the mission," Neji said. "Our mission was to advance through the exams to the finals, we must do whatever it takes to accomplice that goal." Lee was still frowning but nodded.

Tenten picked up a kunai from the pile next to her and walked over to the chained man.

"What are you going to do girly?" the man sneered. "Do you really think that you can do anything to me that hasn't already been done? I'm dead already if I talk, and if I don't I wouldn't be surprised if I'm killed as soon as I leave the prison. Kiri hates those with kekkei genkai; they think we are less than scum and the cause of all the world's problems. So I'll ask again girly, what exactly can you do to me?"

A wicked smile came over Tenten's face. "I think I know exactly what I'm going to do to you," she cackled. "I can't believe no one else figured this out. _**Magen: Hinoiri Musumezakari!**_" (Demonic Illusion: Sunset Bloom of Youth).

Horrible cries of horror echoed up and down the hallway as Tenten held the most despicable genjutsu known to the shinobi world on the man before her. Luckily, Tenten, Lee and Neji were immune to the genjutsu due to Lee and Gai's near constant spamming of the jutsu.

"Please, stop, I'll do anything," the man screamed as he tried to close his eyes but another truly horrible thing about the genjutsu was that it forced the viewer to keep their eyes open. They couldn't look away.

"Tell us what we want to know, and this will all be over with," Tenten said quickly.

"_The Island_!" the man screamed. "The Second Exam is being held on _the Island_!"

"Guard, we have the location!" Neji shouted. A moment later, the same Kiri ninja that had led them to the cell appeared.

"What do you want?" the man sneered, glaring right at Neji.

"The Second Exam is being held on _the Island_," Tenten said. The Kiri ninja growled but nodded.

"Correct," he said. "You'll get a map to the location back at the entrance hall. Now get the hell out of here."

Team Gai raced past the Kiri jonin and found their way back to the main hall of the prison.

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Team 8 was led down the same hallway that Team 10 had been, though ten minutes later. Hinata was shivering in the cold and bleak atmosphere while Akamaru was tucked deep within Kiba's jacket. Shino's eyes were darting back and forth, taking in every detail of the prison, though you couldn't see them from behind his sunglasses.

"Here you go," the Kiri ninja snapped before shoving the trio of Konoha genin into a cell.

"Hey!" Kiba cried. "What was that for?"

"Silence _genin_," the Kiri ninja snarled. "You have one hour to retrieve the location of the Second Exam, if you fail to retrieve the information you fail the exam and will be thrown out of Kiri. Enjoy."

The cell door slammed shut with an ominous clang. Hinata shivered and wrapped her arms around herself while Akamaru whimpered deep within Kiba's jacket.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Hinata whispered. Both Kiba and Shino noticed that she was trembling.

"I'm not sure," Shino said. "It seems that we have to figure out the location where the Second Exam is being held but none of us know where it is, so how…" Just then a trap door opened up and an old man with dank blue hair, hanging limply to his head appeared before Team 8. Hinata made to rush over and help the man when his head suddenly shot up and looked at the trio of genin with a crazed and demented look in his black eyes.

"Who are you three?" the man asked sharply, his tone belaying the fact that his gaze was quite unfocused.

"What is wrong with this man? How could anyone treat someone like this?" Hinata cried as she reached into her pouch for some of her medical cream.

"Hinata, this is a prison," Shino said. "So it stands to reason that this man has committed some crime that warrants him being held here. We are trying to figure out where the Second Exam of the Chunin Exams are being held, do you know where they are being held?"

"Of course I know where the Exam is being held," the man chuckled.

"Will you tell us?" Kiba asked.

"Nope."

"Why not!" Kiba cried.

"They'll kill me if I do," the man said much to the shock of Kiba and Hinata. "If I don't tell you, they'll let me leave here free and clear. And there's no way I'm going to be telling a bunch of snot nosed brats anything, you sure as hell don't look like any competent genin that I've ever seen. You're just children, are you going to go crying to your parents because someone said no to you? Ha, I recognize all of you, you're from Konoha and each of you are part of a clan. I bet you've never had to raise a hand for anything in your lives, everything given to you on a silver platter. Am I right, Inuzaka, Aburame, Hyuga?"

Kiba growled at the man while Hinata shrunk deeper and deeper into herself. Shino frowned beneath his jacket. '_So then, this exam is all about extracting information,_' Shino thought. '_This exam must be all about teaching us that the shinobi world is not all that many people believe it too be. We are just tools for our village to wield in the best way they see fit. We sometimes have to do things that go against our morals in order to complete the mission or protect the village._'

"So this exam is all about our ability to extract information from a target," Shino said. The chained man nodded. "I see; it seems that I have no choice."

"Shino, what are you doing?" Kiba asked as Shino's bugs flew from out under the Aburame's sleeves and buzzed their way toward the chained man.

"I am going to complete the mission," Shino said. "We need to know the location of the Second Exam, and the only way to get that information is to make this man talk. You might not like this but I am not so naïve to believe that Konoha will not make us do things that we are uncomfortable with. We are shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, and I will not shrink away from my duty."

Kiba and Hinata looked stunned at their teammate. It was the most they had ever heard him say in one sentence. And the boy's tone sent shivers down both their spines. They knew that Shino was correct; this exam was nothing like the information-gathering exam that Ibiki had put them under during the Chunin Exams back home in Konoha.

"Do you really think that some measly bugs will make me talk?" the man sneered.

"You identified me as a member of the Aburame clan from Konoha," Shino said. "So I assume that you have some knowledge of my clan's abilities. Well, let me show you up close and personal. _**Hijutsu: Mushinagasu!**_" Shino's bugs swarmed all over the man.

As the man's chakra began to drain away, Hinata and Kiba looked at their teammate with new and opened eyes. They had never seen Shino act so cruelly. As their prisoner's chakra continued to drain away, his screams began to make their presence known.

"Shino-kun, stop this!" Hinata cried. "You're hurting him."

"Hinata stop!" Shino barked, his voice overriding Hinata's screams. "This man has information that we need, and I will not have you disrupting our mission because you can not harden your heart to do what is necessary. Do you really want to show Naruto, Shikamaru and the others how weak you are?"

Hinata leapt back as if she had been slapped.

"Hinata, I'm sorry for my harsh words but you have to realize that the shinobi world is not a nice place," Shino said. "We all will be asked at some point to do something that we don't want too for the good of our village, whether it be torturing a prisoner or assassinating someone. If you can not handle this, then you don't deserve to be a shinobi of Konohagakure."

"Hinata-chan, Shino's right," Kiba said quietly. "We need this information if we want to advance to the next stage. I don't like it any more than you do but there is a difference between enjoying this type of thing and just getting the job done."

Hinata wiped at her eyes, tears had begun to spring from her eyes at Shino's sharp rebuke. It reminded her of her father berating her for not being strong like her sister.

"Oh boo who," the man cackled as he struggled to stay conscious. "Are you three having a little spat? Did you really think that Konoha was as golden white as most people do? The Uchiha clan was wiped out because they were getting too strong for Konoha to control, what do you think will happen when the Hokage fears for her power being taken from her by the Hyuga clan, or the Aburame or the Inuzaka clans? She'll have your clans wiped out, people in power will do anything to stay in power."

"The Hokage would never do such a thing," Hinata cried. "You're lying!"

"Am I?" the man laughed. "If you truly believe that I am lying, then you are truly naïve and have no hope of ever truly becoming a chunin."

"Hinata, stop!" Shino snapped. "He's trying to stale for time and make us lose focus. Concentrate on the job at hand. Now perhaps, you would like to tell us where the Second Exam is being held?"

"Like hell I'll tell you where the Exam is at!" the man shouted. "I already told you, if I tell you I'm dead."

"Hinata-chan, I think this man has had enough," Kiba said. "Perhaps you should give him some of your special cream."

Shino blinked behind his sunglasses at the sudden change in attitude that his two teammates had undergone. He noticed Kiba and Hinata exchange a look.

"Shino-kun, do you mind recalling your bugs?" Hinata asked sweetly while pulling out a tub from her equipment pouch. Shino nodded and recalled his bugs back to his sleeves. Hinata twisted open the container. Shino felt his kikaichū begin to stir at the scent emanating from the tub in Hinata's hands. He looked at Kiba who nodded slightly and the feral boy returned the nod with a wink.

"So I was right," the man laughed. "I knew that you didn't have the guts to go through with this. All you Konoha scum are weak!"

Hinata paused for a spilt second in her smearing the cream onto the man's scarred hands, wrists, feet and ankles. "I wouldn't look down on the shinobi of Konoha," she whispered. "There are many things hidden in the shadows of the Leaf. Shino-kun, I'm all done, you can continue your questioning of this nice man," Hinata finished with a wicked smile that seemed alien on her pretty face.

The man in the chair looked from the young girl kneeling before him to the tall, jacket-wearing Aburame who he could just make out was smiling at him. A buzzing filled the cell as the bugs that the Aburame were known for being partners with came streaming out of the boy's sleeves and attached themselves to his hands and feet.

"Do you really think this again will change…anything?" the man stammered to a finish. Suddenly a burning sensation began to spread from his hands and feet.

"That cream I used to clean your wounds," Hinata said with a sweet smile. "While it does help with the healing of some minor wounds, it has a nasty side-affect of sending Shino-kun's bugs into a frenzy. And Shino-kun isn't totally in control of them when they get this way."

Slowly, the man watched in horror was the Aburame's bugs began to eat away at the flesh between his fingers and toes. Blood began to pool beneath the chair and then drain through the grate at the man's feet. He bit his lip to hold back the moans and groans of pain that were traveling up his throat.

"All you have to do is tell us where the Second Exam is being held, and then all this pain will go away," Shino said. "Or perhaps we will have Akamaru relieve himself down your throat. What do you say Kiba, Akamaru, how long have you been holding yourself in?"

Kiba looked down at the small white dog in his jacket who woofed happily. "I think Akamaru could do with a bathroom break," Kiba said. "What do you say buddy, feel like being Akamaru's hydrant?"

Akamaru leapt down from Kiba's jacket and strode over to the prisoner and sniffed the blood leaking from his hands and feet.

"Perhaps we should move your cream to a different area Hinata, a more sensitive area?" Shino suggested. Hinata blushed heavily as she realized what Shino was suggesting. "Could you imagine that pain? My kikaichū slowly eating away at the soft tissue between your legs and working their way into your body, deeper and deeper until they've buried so deep that you can feel them moving around underneath your skin, wriggling."

The man shivered as he felt several of Shino's kikaichū skitter across his arms and chest. "All right, all right!" the man cried as he winced in pain as the kikaichū used their pincers to slice through the webbing of his fingers and toes. "The Second Exam is being held on _the Island_! Now get these damn bugs off me!"

Shino summoned his kikaichū back with a mental command before Kiba called the guard over and gave him the password. The guard grunted and released the barrier and let Team 8 out of the cell. Kiba, Hinata and Shino raced down the hallway back to the entrance hall and picked up a map from the guard stationed at desk.

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"So we all made it?" Ino said as Kiba, Shino and Hinata dashed aboard the boat that was docked that would take the genin who passed the first exam.

"Indeed," Shino said. "Though I don't think that any of us imagined that the exams would be like this."

Hinata suddenly clutched her stomach and dashed to the edge of the dock. The Konoha genin winced as they heard Hinata vacate her stomach into the sea.

"You're right," Choji stammered. "I mean, I thought that the invasion was the worse of what we would have to deal with."

"Remember what Tsunade-sama said to us before we left the village," Sakura said. "Each of the hidden villages have their own specific way of hosting the Chunin Exams. Kiri is notably known for being a very war-like village, so these types of exams are most likely commonplace. Remember what I said about mine, Naruto's and Sasuke-kun's first mission to the Wave, when we ran into Zabuza. How Zabuza told us about Kiri's graduation exam, how they had to kill one of their classmates? Well, this Chunin Exam seems to be following the same thread as their graduation exam."

"If the first exam was that brutal, then what is the next one going to be?" Kiba asked. The boat pushed away from the dock without a sound and slowly disappeared into the mist that seemed to blanket the entire country.

**A/N: Well there you have it, the latest chapter of _True Meaning_. Sorry it's a bit late but this chapter has been fighting me the whole way much like the previous chapter. I've got the basics for the next several chapters outlined but with work piling up, I don't know how much time I will have to work on this story. Hopefully you all enjoy this edition, please read and review, leave me some ideas on where to take this story in the future and I will consider them. Also, check out the poll for Naruto's partner on my profile. I haven't still decided on who it will be mainly because I don't think I'm a very good 'romance' writer.**

**S.R.W.M.O**


	7. The Island

**Disclaimer: The _Naruto _universe isn't mine, I'm just playing around in Kishimoto's sandbox.**

"So you've returned?" Ao remarked as Naruto and Shikamaru appeared before him at the edge of the Bloodline Rebel camp.

"Of course," Naruto said. "We told Mei-sama that we would if Konoha managed to get several genin teams into the Chunin Exams here in Kiri. So then, how have you been doing?"

"Well," a female voice from behind Ao. It was Temurī Mei. Naruto and Shikamaru bowed slightly to auburn-haired woman. "Welcome Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru."

"Thank you Mei-sama," Shikamaru said. "How have your preparations come since we departed?"

"We have taken your advice to heart," Mei said. "We have trained our recruits as well as we can. But we would like it if you two would teach our younger ninja anything else? We have exhausted all of our knowledge on what to teach them."

"I see," Naruto said. "You do realize that we won't be able to teach your ninja a whole lot more than they probably already know since most of what we know are Konoha secrets but we can help refine their basics as well as teach them some supplementary skills."

"Perhaps you can teach several of our ninja how to use resistance seals?" Mei suggested. "If we can use that training method, it would help our men immensely."

"That could work," Naruto said. "Fuinjutsu is an art that nearly anyone can use to some extent. All right, Mei-sama, you bring the men who you think will enjoy this type of training as well as set up a time for me to work up some seals."

Mei nodded. "Very well," she said. "Ao, show these two to their quarters."

"Hai Mei-sama," the tall man said. "This way."

Naruto and Shikamaru followed the taller man through the camp. "You better hope that your comrades are as strong as you are," Ao said.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"The Second Exam of Kiri's Chunin Exams are usually held on the Island," Ao said.

"What's that?" Shikamaru asked.

"It is Yagura's private ANBU training ground, it is a hidden Island off the coast of Kiri," Ao said. "Only the strongest of Yagura's private ANBU can make it through there unscathed if at all."

"Sounds a lot like the Forest of Death back home in Konoha," Naruto commented.

"Where do you think Yagura got the idea from," Ao said over his shoulder.

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"Welcome to the Island," a Kiri jonin announced as the boat carrying the fourteen remaining genin teams that had passed the first exam. "For the next week this will be your home. There will be only eight teams that pass this exam, there are no rules only that you must have your entire team, alive, at the end of the week to advance."

"What do you mean that only eight teams will advance?" a Suna genin asked.

"Exactly what I said," the Kiri jonin said with a bloodthirsty grin. "Only eight teams will advance, no more. It's up to you how you all come to that number."

Sakura looked around at the other teams. There were five Kiri genin teams, three teams from Iwa, two from Kumo and just one from Suna aside from the three teams from Konoha. That meant at least six teams most likely wouldn't be leaving this island, and with the way most of those Kiri genin were grinning, Sakura was sure that the number would be more than what was needed. She noticed Ino looking at her, and nodded at her blonde teammate. Ino nodded back, she had realized the stakes as well. Sakura noticed that Neji, Tenten and Shino had also realized what was going on as well.

"Now then, each of your teams will be taken to a separate gate and there you will wait until the chime sounds," the Kiri jonin said. "Good luck," he added chuckling darkly.

The three Konoha teams were spilt up, each with at least two other villages' teams between them.

"What are we going to do Sakura, Ino?" Choji asked.

"We're going to find the others and survive," Sakura said. "We need to be careful, the other teams are going to be gunning for us. Keep on your guard at all times."

A loud chime echoed across the Island. Team 10 leapt off the beach and sprinted into the forest.

"Do you have any idea how we are going to meet up with Kiba's and Tenten's teams?" Choji asked.

"No," Sakura said. "We're just going to have keep an ear out for them. And keep it down, we don't want any other teams to hear us."

Two heart pounding hours later the trio of Konoha teams had managed to meet up with each other. None of them had run into any other teams, something that sent warning bells ringing in Team Gai, Sakura and Shino's heads.

"Something's wrong," Shino said. "Why? We've been here for over two hours and yet we've seen no other teams aside from ourselves."

"Shino's right," Neji said. "Our best bet is to stick together."

"What are we going to do about the limited amount of teams that are allowed to pass this exam?" Choji asked. "I mean the proctor said only at most eight teams will advance, but there are fourteen teams in the exam."

"That means six teams won't be surviving this exam," Neji said. "And the best way to insure that we all pass is to eliminate the competition."

"What are you saying Neji-kun?" Lee asked.

"We're going to have to treat this exam as life or death," Neji said. "The only sure way of advancing this exam as well as surviving ourselves is to make sure that we show no mercy."

"Neji-nee-san, you can't be serious!" Hinata cried. "To kill in…"

"It is most unyouthful!" Lee shouted. "Gai-sensei would never…"

"Gai-sensei would understand," Tenten cut her teammate off. "Lee, Neji is right. The best way that we can make sure that we get through this is to make sure that we…"

"Harden our hearts and do what must be done," Shino said. "Most of us have never taken a life but as a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, we will have to do our duty and sometimes we will have to kill for the sake of our village."

"Kakashi-sensei once told my team, while ninja have to kill for their villages, if you ever become immune to its effects, then you've been in the business for far too long," Sakura said. "None of us have killed before, and Kakashi-sensei said that the first kill is the hardest to deal with. But this is a life-and-death situation. If we don't do this, then more likely we'll be the ones who won't be leaving this island."

"Quite right girly," a cold voice sneered. The three Konoha teams spun around to see the trio of Iwa genin teams glaring down at the Konoha group from the trees. "Now then, what do we have here? A group of tree-hugging Konoha scum, all alone and away from home. Looks like we get to have some fun with the so-called wielders of the 'Will of Fire', the home of the Yondaime Hokage, the _Kiiroi Senk__ō_. So what do you say boys, shall we just let these tree-huggers scamper on home?"

"Hell no," one of the Iwa shinobi laughed darkly. "That damnable _Kiiroi Senk__ō_ killed my older brother and uncle, time to get some revenge."

The Iwa boy flung several shuriken at the Konoha group and then called out, "_**Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!**_" The five shuriken multiplied into twenty.

"Scatter!" Neji shouted. The Konoha group leapt apart, however they were quickly met by the Iwa ninja.

"You're not going to get away that easily," the tallest Iwa shinobi shouted.

_Sakura vs. Iwa ninja #1_

Sakura ducked under a kunai slash from her opponent as her master's and Naruto's teachings flitting through her mind. '_If your opponent can't hit you, they can't kill you._' That phrase had been drilled into each of the Konoha 12's heads during their training under Naruto and Shikamaru. Sakura knew that the longer she dodged, and used less chakra than her opponent the better her chances were. While Sakura's chakra reserves had swelled drastically over the months since the Oto/Suna invasion, they were still the smallest of the group aside from Lee.

"_**Doton: Domu!**_" the Iwa genin shouted. A spear of rock rose from the ground; the Iwa genin grasped the earthen spear and snapped it off. "Catch," the girl sneered before hurling the spear toward Sakura. The pink-haired genin cartwheeled out of the way before tossing several shuriken toward the Iwa genin. The brown haired girl easily deflected the shuriken with a kunai of her own.

"Man you're pathetic Konoha scum," the Iwa genin cackled. "My baby brother could throw better shuriken than that. Show me what made Konoha so feared, or have all Konoha shinobi become soft because they haven't fought for their very lives. Back in my village, we have to fight for every inch of our lives! If we fail, we're demoted if not killed outright. You learn quickly to never fail."

"Sounds like a horrible place to live," Sakura commented as her mind raced. She had no idea how this genin fought, she had only seen one jutsu and it was a pretty basic one at that. She recalled that most Iwa shinobi had a _**Doton**_ affinity, and those that didn't were still competent in using the element. Judging from the ease that this genin used the _**Doton**_ jutsu told Sakura that she had a _**Doton**_ affinity.

"_**Doton: Doryuudan!**_" the Iwa girl shouted. A river of mud spat from her mouth and sped toward Sakura, taking the form of a dragon's head. Sakura channeled her chakra into her legs and leapt over the attack.

Sakura's hands began to glow green as she sped toward the Iwa genin.

"So the Konoha scum has some tricks up her sleeve," the Iwa genin laughed as she danced around Sakura's _**Chakura no Mesu**_. "You're going to have to do better than that if you want to have a chance against me."

Sakura cancelled her jutsu to conserve chakra before dropping her weight seals. Instantly, Sakura felt light as a feather. "Let's see how you handle this, courtesy of my best friend," she said before vanishing in a burst of speed.

"What!" the Iwa genin cried before she ducked reflexively.

"You're pretty quick on your feet," Sakura commented as she reappeared behind the Iwa genin. "I really will have to thank Naruto for setting us all up with weight seals. He's quite the _**fuinjutsu**_ expert, you know just like the Yondaime."

The Iwa girl's eyes flashed with anger at the mention of the scurge of Iwa and his abilities, abilities that the Tsuchikage had tried to replicate but had failed. Iwa had several _**fuinjutsu**_ specialists but none were even close to the level of the Yondaime Hokage or his sensei, Jiraiya of the Sannin.

"So you are faster than me, so what?" the Iwa girl sneered. "I'm still going to pound you into the ground!"

"We'll see," Sakura retorted. The pair of kunoichi sped toward each other. Sakura threw a chakra-laden punch toward the Iwa girl who ducked under it easily. The brown-haired girl felt the whoosh of the release of Sakura's chakra overhead.

"You might have strength girly, but you telegraph your movements, making it all too easy to get out of the way," the Iwa girl mocked. "You'll never beat me if you keep fighting at this level. How the hell did you make it this far? You probably relied on your teammates and just sat back and played damsel in distress. What did you think, that this line of work would be a fairy tale? That you could just sit back and let the men do all the work and if you ever got in trouble, that your teammates, most likely male, would swoop in and rescue you? Well, I've got news for you _sister_ this is the real world. Fairy tales don't exist in the real world, and neither do heroes!"

Sakura flinched. This girl's words had struck a nerve with the pink-haired girl. She had been exactly has the Iwa girl described; a pathetic excuse for a kunoichi, relying solely on her teammates for help and protection, always thinking that Sasuke would swoop in a save the day. But ever since the Chunin Exams she had been different. Sakura trained almost excessively in the hopes of never returning to that state of helplessness that she had felt at the mercy of that Oto kunoichi back in the Forest of Death.

"You know, less than a year ago, you would have been right about me," Sakura said, slapping aside a viscous upper cut from the Iwa genin. "I was pathetic, a total simpering fan-girl. All about love and fairy tales, I only became a ninja to try and impress this one boy who I had a major crush on. It wasn't until our first mission outside the village that I began to receive my reality check. We were assigned to escort this old drunk bridge builder and protect him while he finished building a bridge that spanned from Nami to Hi no Kuni's coast. During the mission, Momochi Zabuza ambushed my team and me twice; we managed to escape the first time. But it was my ninja battle and I froze, it was terrifying. Then we took the Chunin Exams last time, I'm sure you heard about the Oto/Suna invasion of Konoha during the finals. Well, what you probably didn't know was that during the Second Exam, my team and I were ambushed by Orochimaru of the Sannin. Just one look from the man had me on my knees in terror, and that was before he even used any KI. After the Second Exam, I vowed to never put my teammates in danger because of my weakness. I've been training nearly non-stop since those Exams in hopes of catching up to my remaining loyal teammate but I haven't even come close. I don't think I will ever come close to being as strong as Naruto. But one thing is for sure; I will not let him, my master or my comrades down. And because of that, I will defeat you!"

Sakura stuck both hands into her equipment pouches and pulled out several kunai with something hanging from their handles. She began tossing them at the Iwa genin who easily dodged them. Suddenly the balls that were hanging (minds out of the gutter) from the kunai burst, peppering the air with tiny fragments of paper.

"What is this?" the Iwa girl scoffed. "Is this it?"

"Not quite," Sakura said with a smirk. She held one more kunai. "_**Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu!**_" (Sakura Blizzard Jutsu) A massive fireball illuminated the area, as the exploding tag on Sakura's final kunai ignited the scattered tags surrounding the Iwa genin. The brown haired girl cried out as she was engulfed in fire and flames. When the explosions died out, Sakura saw that the Iwa girl had disappeared. Sakura sighed and turned back toward the other fights.

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_Neji vs. Iwa ninja #2_

Neji activated his Byakugan and glared at the Iwa boy that was standing across from him.

"So I get to fight a Hyuga," the boy laughed. "Good, at least this fight should be a challenge. Though you don't look like much of a Hyuga."

Neji's eyes narrowed, though it almost looked comical due to his Byakugan. "Fate has decreed myself the winner of this fight," Neji sneered. "You'd best give up."

The Iwa genin laughed. "Wow, I had heard rumors that Hyugas were stuck up and arrogant but you take the cake. Saying you've already won before we have even started to fight. But I guess if you say that you've already been declared the winner then perhaps we should…nah, I'm going to kill you. A Hyuga killed my father during the war and I'm going to enjoy taking out my frustrations on you."

Neji just continued glaring at the Iwa ninja. A spilt second later, he was rocketing across the clearing toward the Iwa ninja, who just smirked and drew two kunai. Neji's charge was brought up short as the Iwa ninja flung both kunai at the Hyuga prodigy. Neji easily deflected the two knives with a kunai of his own.

"_**Doton: **__**Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu!**_" a voice called out. Neji's eyes widened as he felt hands grab his ankles and pull him into the ground. A moment later, the Iwa genin burst from the ground several feet from him.

"How?" Neji asked. The second Iwa genin dissolved into mud. "_**Doton: Deido Bunshin!**_" (Earth Release: Mud Clone).

"Yep," the Iwa genin laughed. "Looks like those special eyes of your can't see everything. You were over confident in your eyes."

"And you are over confident in your own abilities! _**Hakkesho Kaiten!**_" Neji shouted. A blue glow surrounded Neji and suddenly the ground erupted into dust as Neji's Rotation churned up the ground and freed him from the _**Doton**_ jutsu.

"You are within the range of my divination," Neji said, falling into his Juken stance. "_**Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!**_" Neji's body and hands blurred as he rushed toward his opponent. The Iwa genin's eyes widened as Neji appeared before him. It looked like Neji had several more hands as he used his clan's taijutsu style to attack the Iwa genin's tenketsu.

"You're finished," Neji said as he stood above the fallen Iwa genin. "Fate determined me the winner, you were stupid for attempting to fight Fate."

"You know, you talk too much," an amused voice said from above Neji. The Hyuga whirled around to see his opponent sitting on a branch in a tree about twenty feet from him. "You rely to heavily on those eyes of yours, you believe that just because you have the Byakugan that you are superior to me. Well, perhaps its time to show you what a ninja with no special skills, no dojutsu, no kekkei genkai to speak of. Just guts and grit."

"Another _**Deido Bunshin**_," Neji snarled as his Byakugan flared again. He was furious at being tricked once more. "Is that your only trick? Just switching out with your clones."

Suddenly Naruto's voice filled Neji's mind. '_Just because you have a kekkei genkai doesn't make you stronger than someone who doesn't have one. It might give you an advantage over some of your opponents but remember there is always someone who is stronger.'_ Shaking his head, Neji settled back into his stance and waited for his opponent to make his move.

The Iwa genin grinned down at Neji. "Now you're serious, good," the boy said. "Why don't we finish this?"

Neji frowned; he knew that he was at a disadvantage. He had a _**Doton**_ affinity; however like much of his clan he didn't use ninjutsu outside of clan techniques, and as such while Neji did practice his _**Doton**_ manipulation, he felt it was worth more of his time to practice his Gentle Fist style. Shikamaru's voice echoed in Neji's head, '_Dozens of shinobi die early in their careers because they become too specialized in one area of training, the Hyuga clan is a perfect example of this. You train almost only in your taijutsu style and think that any ninja that uses ninjutsu is weaker than you. But look at the most powerful ninja of history; while they all had their areas of expertise, they also made sure that they were confident enough in the other areas of being a ninja. You need to realize that while your taijutsu style is formidable, every jutsu, style and idea has a counter. You can't continue to rely on just one thing to get through this line of work._'

This advice, coming from a genin a year younger than him, as well as someone who barely passed the graduation exam really rankled Neji, though he could still see the merit in branching out into the other spheres of the shinobi arts.

"_**Doton: Doryuusou!**_" (Earth Release: Earthen Rising Spears) the Iwa genin shouted before slamming his hand to the ground. The ground surrounding Neji rippled and several spikes shot up from the ground, intent on skewering Neji like a piece of meat.

"_**Hakkesho Kaiten!**_" Neji shouted as a dome of chakra erupted around him, deflecting the _**Doton**_ jutsu away from his body.

"Impressive," the Iwa genin said. "To be able to use your special abilities to block my jutsu but that's not going to be enough. _**Doton: Ishikobushi no Jutsu!**_" (Earth Release: Stone Fist Jutsu) Several rocks shot up into the air and attached themselves to the boy's hand, covering it in a crude imitation of a glove. The boy leapt toward Neji, his rock-covered fist cocked back ready to smash into Neji's chest. Neji spun out of the way and attempted to stab at the boy's back and close off several tenketsu points but the Iwa ninja leapt away before Neji could connect.

"Impressive," the boy chuckled. "But not impressive enough." The boy launched himself once more toward Neji, his fist rocketing toward the Hyuga once more. Neji ducked under the bow and landed several Gentle Fist strikes to his opponent's stomach causing the boy to cough up blood.

"Lucky shot," the Iwa genin grunted as he clutched his stomach. "But you're going to have to do better than that to defeat me."

"You are right," Neji said. "My sensei has repeatedly told me that I need to branch out into the shinobi arts, yet I always would scoff at him. Tell him how I didn't need anything other than my clan's jutsus but I can see that I was wrong. So it is time to show you what I have learned from my sensei as well as the most infuriating shinobi I've ever met. _**Doton: Ganchuusou!**_ (Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spears)" Neji slammed his hands to the ground and a much like the Iwa genin's jutsu, the ground rippled and earthen pillars shot upward, surrounding the Iwa boy. Neji sent another pulse of chakra through the earth and spikes shot out of the pillars, skewering the Iwa genin. The boy's eyes widened in shock as he felt his body sag. Neji turned away from his dying opponent and made to find his teammates.

_Hinata vs. Iwa ninja #3_

"So you're a Hyuga?" the Iwa girl sneered down at Hinata, who flinched slightly at the tone. "You look weak, just like all Konoha scum. This will be easy."

"I…I might look…weak but I will show you the strength of Konoha and the Hyuga clan," Hinata stammered as she activated her Byakugan. The Iwa girl leapt down from her branch and charged toward Hinata, a kunai gripped in her hand.

Hinata ducked under the kunai slash and drew her own kunai. The clanging of metal filled the area that they were fighting.

"Come on girly," the Iwa girl shouted as she drove Hinata backward. Hinata gasped as she felt herself hit the trunk of a tree. "I've got you now!" Hinata's opponent thrust her kunai at the Hyuga heiress. Hinata leaned out of the way of the strike, though wasn't fast enough as the kunai slice through Hinata's cheek, leaving a furrow that stretched from Hinata's mouth to her jawline. Hinata leapt away, clutching her bleeding cheek, eyes welling with tears.

"You're pathetic if that little paper cut is all it takes to make you cry," the Iwa girl sneered. "Are you sure you're a shinobi? A shinobi from Iwa would never act in such a pathetic manner."

Hinata flinched as if struck at the girl's words. '_She's right,_' Hinata thought. '_I'm not shinobi-material, tou-san is right. I'm weak, I will never be strong enough to fix our clan, Naruto-kun will never look at me._'

'_Hinata, you are a very strong person but you have to believe in yourself,_' Naruto's voice filled her head. '_You have all the strength you need already but you just need to realize it. I can't give it to you; the only person who can give you that strength is you. I know that you think I'm so sort of icon to look up too and I'm flattered that you think so highly of me but you have to realize that I'm not perfect and if you place me on this pedestal then you are just weakening yourself. I'm strong because I've trained harder than anyone and that I believed in myself, even if no one else did. I believe that a person becomes truly strong when they fight for what is precious to them, why do you fight?'_

'_Why do I fight?_' Hinata asked herself as she 'returned' to the battle, ducking under a kunai slash. '_I don't like to fight, I don't want to fight, I've never wanted to fight anyone._'

'_Hinata, no one truly loves to fight, or if they do, then they have truly lost their humanity,_' Naruto 'said'. '_I hate fighting but there are times that fighting is the only answer that we can have. I must fight to protect my family, my friends and my home. I can't afford to die here!_'

Hinata's eyes hardened as she took in her opponent. Hinata's Byakugan flared to life, stronger than before.

"Well then, it seems that you've finally decided to take this seriously," the Iwa genin laughed. "So then, let us see how strong your tree-hugging Konoha scum can handle what a true ninja can do!" The girl launched herself toward Hinata, kunai outstretched ready to skewer Hinata.

Hinata ducked easily under the wild swing and jabbed her fingers into the girl's arm, striking several tenketsu points. The Iwa genin gaped as she lost feeling in her right arm and dropped the kunai. Hinata swung around to her other side and did the same thing to her other arm which flopped uselessly.

"What did you do!" the Iwa genin shouted, whirling around, her arms flopping beside her.

"I struck at the tenketsu points in your arms making them useless," Hinata said. "They will heal in time but until then, you can't channel chakra through your arms."

"You BITCH!" the girl shouted as she charged at Hinata, who danced aside and jabbed the girl in the back of her legs. The Iwa shinobi dropped to the ground like a puppet that had its strings cut. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief as she deactivated her Byakugan and pulled out several feet of ninja wire.

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_Choji vs. Iwa ninja #4_

"Ah man, I got stuck with the fat Konoha scrub," the massive Iwa genin groaned as he looked at Choji who was trembling somewhat under the gaze of the extremely physically imposing Iwa genin. "Look at you, your trembling like a child. That's what you are, just a fat little baby."

Choji stopped trembling as a veil of red descended on him. "I'm not FAT!" he roared. "_**Baika no Jutsu!**_"

Choji's arms and legs were sucked into his body as it expanded to three times its normal size. Two strings of ninja wire with kunai hung from Choji's chest, much like bandoliers. "_**Nikudan Hari Sensha!**_" (Spiked Human Bullet Tank)

The Akimichi heir sped toward the Iwa, the kunai churning up the ground. The Iwa genin smirked as he made several hands signs and called out.

"_**Doton: Doryuu Heki!**_" A mud wall rose up from the ground, putting itself between the Iwa boy and Choji. Choji slammed into the _**Doton**_ jutsu, causing it to explode into bits and pieces of stone. The Iwa genin leapt clear of the rapidly spinning Choji, and slowly turned around to see Choji's jutsu run its course.

"Man, I can't believe how weak you are," the Iwa genin cackled. "I knew that you would be slow because of how fat you are, but come on, how in Kami's name did you ever become a ninja when you are so weak?"

Choji growled as he looked at the Iwa ninja.

"You know, that blonde chick of yours," the Iwa shinobi chuckled. "She's quite a piece of work. I'm sure that I could show her a good time, hell, she'd probably enjoy it."

Choji's eyes widened before they narrowed into slits. Chakra exploded around Choji's body, bathing the clearing in a light blue light. "You stay away from Ino-chan!" Choji roared as he bulled his way toward the Iwa genin. The two ninja clashed loudly in a taijutsu battle. Choji quickly realized that his opponent far out-classed him in taijutsu. He disengaged from the Iwa boy and reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic case that held three pills, a green, a yellow and a red one.

"Do you really think that taking food pill is going to help you at all?" the Iwa boy laughed. "That's pathetic."

Choji ignored his opponent and popped open the first compartment and quickly swallowed the green pill. The Iwa genin quickly stopped laughing when he realized that Choji's chakra levels had risen drastically.

"So you do have some fight in you fatso?" the Iwa genin sneered. "Let's see if you can handle this." The boy settled into a taijutsu stance as Choji charged toward him. The pair exchanged several heavy blows, though Choji knew that he couldn't keep up this pace due to his quickly dwindling chakra reserves, the Iwa genin was leagues ahead of him in taijutsu. For every hit that Choji landed on the boy, he was hit three times.

"Typical!" the Iwa boy sneered. "You are pathetic, all that green living has made you Konoha scum weak, all that peace-loving drivel you spout off, you have no idea what it means to suffer and to have to fight everyday of your lives just to survive."

The Iwa genin shot forward and drove his fist deep into Choji's stomach, expelling all the air in Choji's chest in one sharp burst. Choji dropped to his knees, gasping, trying to get some air back into his lungs. The Iwa genin grabbed Choji by the hair and yanked him up.

"You know my best friend's father was killed during the war," the boy growled. "He was killed by a Konoha ninja by the name of Akimichi Chōza, and from what I've seen from pictures of the bastard, you look a lot like him. What's your name runt?"

"Akimichi Choji! And don't insult my tou-san!" Choji shouted, throwing the Iwa genin's hand off him and rolling to his feet. He flipped open the second compartment and swallowed the yellow pill. Choji felt the rush of chakra surge through his body. "You can insult me all you want but never insult my tou-san or Ino-chan!" Choji's fist became covered in chakra.

Choji dashed forward toward the larger boy, ducked under a crushing blow from the Iwa boy and shouted out, "_**Ooki-Honenuki Appa-katto!**_" (Big Boned Uppercut) The Iwa genin was rocketed upward as Choji's fist crashed into his jaw. Choji thought he heard a sharp CRACK coming from the boy's jaw when he landed his blow. Choji watched as the boy sailed through the air heading straight for a outcropping of rocks. Choji made to catch the flying boy but the effects of his family's pills had drained him of all strength. Choji's mouth opened in a silent cry as the Iwa genin's paralyzed body crashed into the rocks with a sickening thwack. Choji cringed as he heard bones crack and pop from the impact.

Choji looked on in horror as his opponent's battered and broken body slumped limply against a pillar of rock that jutted out from the outcropping. The force of the boy's falling generated enough force to allow the rock pillar to pierce the boy's body through his back and stomach.

Choji turned green as blood ran rivets down the stone, painting it red. Choji's chest burned as he turned away and deposited his rations onto the ground. They never tasted well the second time.

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Sakura stumbled back into the clearing that held the Konoha group had made into their base camp, her hair slightly singed and clothes burnt. Looking around, she saw Ino, Kiba, Tenten, Shino and Neji standing guard over the camping site.

"Where are Hinata, Lee, Choji?" she asked.

"They aren't back yet," Ino said. "We all got separated during the fights, I'm not sure where they are."

"This isn't good," Sakura said. "The proctor said that we couldn't pass unless our entire team was present and those Iwa ninja were trying to kill us."

There was some rustling from the bushes behind the group. Sakura, Tenten and Ino spun around, groping for their weapons.

"Don't," Neji said. His Byakugan was activated. "It's just Hinata-sama and Lee. Hinata-sama seems to have captured her opponent."

"Choji is nearby as well," Shino said. "My bugs have placed him about two hundred meters away, though he is moving very slowly."

"Kiba, you and Neji, go and get Choji and bring him back her," Sakura said. "We need to make sure that everyone is ok and can continue. And then we need to find a better, more defensible position; our fights have most likely been heard by the other teams."

"Haruno-san is correct," Shino said. "We must leave this area quickly lest we find ourselves under attack once again."

Kiba and Neji leapt off into the bushes to find Choji while Tenten pulled out several spools of ninja wire to bind their captive. Kiba and Neji returned five minutes later, supporting a staggeringly thin Choji.

"CHOJI!" Ino cried as she raced over to her teammate. "What happened?"

"Family…family…pill," Choji panted before falling limp in Kiba and Neji's arms.

"CHOJI!"

"Ino calm down," Sakura barked. "He's just fallen unconscious. Now did he say anything before he lost consciousness."

"Something about a family pill," Ino said, cradling Choji's head in her lap.

"We found this beside Choji," Kiba said, holding up the plastic case.

Sakura's eyes widened when she recognized what Kiba was holding. "Those are the special Akimichi pills, they are said to provide an immense boost of chakra but however the users also suffer from acute chakra exhaustion after using the pills."

"Well then, give him some food pills or something," Ino demanded.

"I can't," Sakura said. "Right now, Choji's chakra coils are too unstable and if they receive another boost of chakra, like that of a food pill, it could permanently damage their coils. All we can do right now is too wait until Choji stabilizes." Ino nodded but kept stroking the unconscious boy's head. "Come on Ino, we need to keep moving. Kiba, Lee, you two are the strongest physically here so you two will have to carry Choji while I work on him. Hinata, Neji, keep your Byakugan active and keep an eye out for anyone nearby.  
"Hai," the four Konoha shinobi answered, jumping to their tasks.

"What are we going to do about her?" Tenten asked, dragging their captive Iwa shinobi forward.

"We don't have time to deal with her," Sakura said. "Just release her and let's go. She can't pass now without her team and I have a feeling that she'll be either easy pickings for the other teams or they'll just ignore her because she's not a threat anymore."

"Please don't just leave me here," the girl cried out. "You can't!

"You would have done the same thing to us," Neji said. "If you and your comrades had bothered to leave survivors. Our two villages hate each other. If the positions were reversed, your teammates wouldn't hesitate to kill us."

"You're probably right," the Iwa girl said. "And I have no right to ask you for this but I never agreed with my village's continued grudge against yours. Sure our two villages are rivals, and conflict will happen but none of my teammates nor I were even alive during the war. We lost, yes, and we should have let things go. The majority of my generation has been brainwashed by the older generation into hating Konoha because of the man who became the Yondaime Hokage. I promise you that if you let me live, I won't bother you any longer."

Several heads turned toward Sakura, who just closed her eyes and shook her head. "We don't have the time nor the resources to deal with her," Sakura said. "Just let her go but if we see you again, you aren't getting away. Deal?"

"Deal!" the Iwa girl said quickly. Tenten quickly unbound the Iwa girl and stepped back as the girl rubbed feeling back into her limbs.

"Now get the hell out of here," Sakura ordered. The brown haired, pink-eyed girl nodded vigorously before leaping off into the bushes.

"Come on," Sakura said. "Let's get moving."

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Just before nightfall, the Konoha ninja were able to find a cave near the coast of the Island where they set up camp. They set up a rotation of watches with Hinata and Sakura, Shino and Lee, Kiba and Ino, and Neji and Tenten. The pairs each took a two-hour shift so that everyone was well rested for the next day.

Dawn was just about to break when a shrill scream rent the air. The Konoha group leapt into action, each grabbing their weapons.

"What's going on?" Sakura cried.

Everyone turned to see Hinata clutching herself around the knees, rocking back and forth.

"Hinata-chan, what's wrong?" Kiba asked. However Hinata seemed completely unresponsive, staring blankly out of the cave toward the ocean. "Sakura, what's wrong with Hinata?"

"Hinata," Sakura asked softly. "Hinata, I need to know what's wrong."

"So much blood," Hinata murmured as she continued to stare blankly. "So much blood."

Sakura turned toward the others. "I think she had a nightmare or something," she said. "It seems that she either imagined something drastic, or saw something during her fight. But wasn't she the one who brought back that Iwa girl?"

"You are correct," Neji said with a glare down at the trembling Hyuga heiress. "It seems that Hinata-sama isn't ready for this type of thing. She's weak if she can't handle death and gore. Being a shinobi means dealing with unpleasant things, she's either going to have to accept that or get out of the service."

"Neji-kun!" Lee shouted. "That is a most unyouthful thing to say. Hinata-chan is a very youthful person and knows that it is most unyouthful to kill people."

"Lee, we're shinobi," Neji snapped. "We're just living weapons for the village to aim at their enemies. We are going to have to kill at some point, did you have to kill your opponent yesterday?"

Lee frowned. "Yes," he mumbled. "It was the most unyouthful thing I've ever done! Gai-sensei will be so ashamed of me. My flames of youth have been extinguished. I vow that when we return to Konoha, I will run 100 laps around the village on my hands in punishment!"

"Shut up!" Sakura barked as Neji made to continue the argument. "We don't have time for you two's petty bickering."

"Quite right you don't," a snide voice came from the entrance of the cave. The Konoha ninja whirled around to see two teams of ninja, the hitai ate's signaling their allegiance to Kirigakure no Sato. "Looky what we've got here, a group of scared little babies from Konoha."

"They look ready to faint away," a green haired Kiri ninja laughed. "Perhaps we should put them out of their misery."

"What do you want? As you can see, we're somewhat busy right now," Sakura snarled as her mind worked frantically, trying to come up with a way out of this. The problem was that they were pinned down, the Kiri ninja had blocked off the only entrance to the cave, and all they need to do was pretty collapse it and they would all be dead.

"Yes, it does seem that you all are having some trouble," the leader of the Kiri ninja cackled. "Too bad I think its time for you all to say goodbye."

"_**Hijutsu: Mushinagasu!**_" Shino called out as a swarm of bugs engulfed the two Kiri teams. However Shino frowned behind his high-collared jacket as the Kiri ninja collapsed into puddles of water. "We need to get out of this cave. Those Kiri ninja can't be very far away."

The other Konoha ninja nodded and raced toward the exit of the cave, Lee carrying Hinata in his arms.

"Duck!" Kiba shouted as his keen ears twitched as he heard the whirring sound of sailing shuriken. The Konoha ninja hit the ground as dozens of shuriken flew over their heads.

"_**Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!**_" Neji barked as a wall of earth rose in front of the Konoha shinobi, blocking a second wave of shuriken. "_**Doton: Dobei Shuuha!**_" (Earth Release: Earthen Wave) A wave of earth spread from Neji's hands and sped toward the opening, covering the advancement of the Konoha shinobi out into the open.

"So you were able to survive that attack?" a familiar voice cackled from above the cave. The Konoha shinobi looked up to see the Kiri ninja sneering down at them. "Not bad though it was a pretty weak attack. Let's see how you do against our real bodies, not clones!"

"_**Suiton: Mizurappa!**_" one of the Kiri ninja shouted. A large wave of water rose from the ocean and sped toward the Konoha ninja.

"Scatter!" Sakura cried. The Konoha shinobi vanished in blurs, all evading the _**Suiton**_ jutsu, though for Lee who was carrying Hinata it was a close call.

"_**Raiton: Hiraishin!**_" Sakura said, flinging several _**Raiton**_ encased kunai at the Kiri ninja.

"Pathetic!" one of the Kiri ninja sneered. "Is this all you can do? Just throw kunai at your opponents."

"Not quite," Sakura grinned.

"_**Hakke Kūshō!**_" (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palms) Neji cried from behind the Kiri ninja. Two of the ninja cried out in pain as they were flung forward off their feet right toward Sakura, who had created a _**Kage Bunshin**_.

"Say good night!" Sakura growled as she and her clone drove their fists into the Kiri ninja's stomachs, sending them flying off into the ocean. Sakura dispelled her clone and nodded to the Hyuga.

"You're going to have to do better than that," a Kiri ninja growled. "_**Suiton: Suiryūdan!**_" A massive dragon made of water rose from ocean and 'roared'. Sakura and Neji leapt apart to avoid the _**Suiton**_ dragon. The Kiri ninja smirked as the dragon continued on, instead of smashing into the sand. Sakura and Neji spun around to see the water dragon bearing down on Ino, Choji, Lee and Hinata.

"Ino look out!" Sakura cried out. Ino turned around to see the _**Suiton**_ jutsu bearing down on the foursome of Konoha shinobi. "NO!" Sakura screamed as the jutsu crashed into the ground near the group and detonated, sending plumes of smoke and sand flying into the air. "You bastards!" Sakura growled. "_**Raiton: **__**Rakurai!**_" Streams of lightning spat from Sakura's fingers, speeding toward the Kiri ninja who had used the _**Suiton**_ jutsu. The boy tried to dodge but Sakura using her superior chakra control controlled the streams of lightning to box the Kiri ninja in before collapsing the jutsu onto the boy. Sakura grinned grimly as she watched her opponent's body become engulfed by her jutsu. The smell of burning cloth and flesh filled the air as the unmoving body of the Kiri ninja crashed to the ground.

"You bitch! That was my brother!" a green haired Kiri girl screamed. "I'm going to kill you! _**Suiton: **__**Bakusui Shōha!**_"

A tidal wave of water rose from the ocean and roared toward them. Sakura and Neji tried to leap over the wave but it was too tall and they were both sent careening backward into the roof of the cave. Sakura and Neji screamed out in pain as the immense water pressure battered their bodies. They slumped to the cave floor, their bodies screaming out in pain.

"Sakura-chan! Neji-kun!" Lee shouted as he rushed over to the pair. "That was most unyouthful! I will not let you harm my comrades again."

"Please freak, as if you can do anything…" the girl trailed off as Lee disappeared from view. The girl's world was filled with pain as Lee's foot impacted under her chin, sending her flying.

"_**Omote Renge!**_" Lee announced as his arm bandages wrapped themselves around the Kiri girl. As the pair descended, spinning rapidly like a top, Sakura and Neji blearily looked up while the other Kiri ninja looked on it shock. A massive explosion shook the ground as Lee leapt clear of the taijutsu attack, though he wobbled on his feet. When the smoke finally cleared, the only parts of the Kiri ninja visible were her legs, which hung limply.

"That's it! Renji, do it!" a brown-haired shouted at a red-haired boy.

The red-haired boy's hands blurred through several hand signs. "_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**_" he shouted. A massive plume of smoke erupted from the ground and surrounded the group. A gust of wind blew aside the smoke to revel a sight that sent blood draining from the Konoha ninja's faces.

A crab the size of a house towered over the Konoha group. Fear filled their hearts, never in their wildest dreams would have thought that any of their opponents would be capable of summoning anything, let alone a summon the size of a house. Sure they had seen Naruto summon his toads, as well as Shikamaru's falcons. Everyone was a bit amazed that not only did Shikamaru have a summoning contract but also it was that of an animal that was known for its speed. Shikamaru only said that the falcon was an animal that suited him and left it at that.

"Kuso!" Neji cursed. "How in Kami's name are we supposed to fight against that?" he asked, leaping backward to avoid being crushed by the crab's massive claw.

"I have no idea," Sakura answered. "None of us have the chakra to fight it head on, as well we don't know any jutsu strong enough to dispel it."

"Where's Uzumaki when we need him?" Neji growled as he tossed several kunai with exploding tags at the massive summon. The crab just raised its claws and the attack barely left a mark.

Sakura suddenly blinked and reached for her kunai pouch. "Neji, grab that kunai that Naruto gave us!" she shouted. "Lee, Tenten, Kiba, Shino same with you. Aim those kunai at the crab!"

The five Konoha ninja grabbed the kunai that Naruto had given them before he and Shikamaru left at the border of Mizu no Kuni and flung them at the massive summon. Five puffs of smoke appeared as the kunai released their 'prisoners', five Narutos surrounded the giant crab.

"Whoa!" one of the Narutos commented. "Looks like you guys need some help. All right guys, looks like we get to let loose for a bit."

"Yosh!" the other Narutos shouted before leaping into the air.

"What the!" Kiba shouted. "What is Naruto doing here? Isn't that cheating?"

"Who cares!" Ino cried, cradling her broken arm to her chest.

"That isn't Naruto-kun," Hinata said. "Those are _**Kage Bunshin**_, it's the same thing he did to Neji-nii-san during the Chunin Exams."

"_**Rasengan!**_" three of the Naruto clones roared before slamming the jutsu into the top of the summon's shell. The massive crab let out a piercing wail before dispelling in a large puff of smoke.

"Well there you go," 'Naruto' said. "Do you think you guys can handle these scrubs from here on?"

"Hai, thanks Naruto," Sakura said.

"No problem Sakura-chan, it was my…" the clone was suddenly cut off as a blade was suddenly protruding from its chest.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata screamed as she saw her crush run through by a blade. Suddenly Hinata blurred from sight and reappeared before the Kiri ninja that had run 'Naruto' through. "You killed Naruto-kun! Die!" she shrieked. With a single _**Juken**_ strike to the boy's heart, Hinata dispatched the Kiri ninja. The Kiri ninja coughed weakly as blood flowed from his mouth.

"What have you done?" he asked.

"I destroyed your heart, just like you did mine," Hinata answered coldly as she watched the boy's eyes dim and his body crumple to the ground. She turned to face the remaining Kiri ninja, her Byakugan glowing and an aura of cold and death surrounding her. In a blur of motion that no one could follow, Hinata appeared in front of each of the four remaining Kiri ninja and with a single touch, they dropped to the ground, blood flowing freely from their mouths.

"Hinata," Kiba gasped as he took in the bloody Hyuga heiress. Suddenly Hinata's body shook and her Byakugan deactivated before her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed.

"Hinata!" Kiba and Shino shouted, rushing over to their teammate.

"What just happened?" Ino asked.

"I'm not sure," Sakura said. "I think that the stress of this exam, and the sight of 'Naruto' being killed in front of her made Hinata lose it for a moment."

"But that wasn't really Naruto, it was a clone," Kiba said. "She was the first one to realize it."

"I had hoped to never see that side of Hinata again," a familiar voice said from behind the group. It was the final Naruto clone who was looking at Hinata with a sad expression.

"What do you mean 'again'?" Sakura asked. But Naruto dispelled himself before anything more could be said.

**A/N: Well there you have the newest installment of _True Meaning_. Man this chapter fought me quite a bit, I just could really get it too flow. Hopefully, I've done a decent job at it. I am looking for a beta to look over this story as well as my new _Harry Potter_ story '_Vengeance__' _so if anyone is interested, send me a PM. I would love a second pair of eyes to look over my work because when I try and review it, my eyes just seem to pass over it. Also this story and _'Vengeance'_ will be my priority for the time being, though updates will be scattered because I'm working usually five or six days a week and I usually set up an outline first then write out the story. Please read and review this chapter, and check out my other stories, suggestions will always be taken seriously though they might not be used. Enjoy**

**S.R.W.M.O**


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